La piel que habito

Pedro Almodóvar has some talent. Anyone else who tried to make a film like The Skin I Live In(2011)would have treaded heavily, fumbled and fallen with the oddness of it all. Antonio Banderas plays a brilliant plastic surgeon, with about as much baggage as Lady Gaga on a world tour, who invents and prefects an artificial skin with the aid of his human test subject.  This is really as much of the plot that can be given away without ruining a fine piece of cinema. The mystery to the story that opens up around the audience is a stroke of genius.

 

Almodovar has been quoted as saying that The Skin I Live In is “a horror story without screams or frights”. And my did he get it right. Maybe a little slow to start but once it gets going, it really gets going. Banderas is the linchpin in this tale, drawing the viewer in with a superb turn as the manic, once loving, surgeon. It could have easily all gone so wrong, a story verging on wacky and distasteful, it is beautifully played out with Almodovar at the helm.  A true horror story that will linger in your subconscious for quite some time after viewing. If you missed it in the cinema first time round, get it on D.V.D now. You won’t be disappointed.

 

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Chef's recommended dish of the month: October

Gus Van Sant, film marmite. Apart from Good Will Hunting the majority of his films polarise people’s opinions. His work is trademarked with lots of slow organic shots, minimal dialogue and a pace akin to the trudging of an auld wan on her way to the shops. Personally I think this month’s dish is a great piece of filmmaking but if that’s not your bag than stop reading right here. No really, just stop, I mean it. You’ll get angry at me if you watch it.

 

 

Severed up this month is Last Days (2005) the story of a musician dealing with depression, isolation and suicidal thoughts. And once I tell you that the plot is based on Kurt Cobain  you don’t need to be a genius to figure out how it all ends. Due to Courtney Love’s tight grasp on all things Nirvana the copyright and green light was never given so we have changed names and no nirvana music but it’s pretty blatant as to where Gus Van Sant has gotten his inspiration from.

Last Days works beautifully in the sense that it captures the feeling of voyeurism quite well. A fan of Nirvana will know that that was always an issue with Kurt, the fame that the band brought, the feeling of always being watched. Michael Pitt does a stellar job as the infamous frontman, even belting out a not too bad singing impression of the late musician. He has got the forlorn, disconnected thing down pat and his traipsing’s seem to come quite naturally. Some may argue that he spends the most part of the film hiding behind his hair and mumbling quite a bit but that strikes me as a familiar practice amongst angst ridden musicians anyways.

Michael Pitt has picked quite interesting roles in his career (see Funny Games, The Dreamers) after his dire turn on Dawson’s Creek. Looking like Leonardo DiCaprio’s weird younger brother that never leaves his room and spends all his time filming plastic bags floating in the wind he could have fizzled off to nothing but give this man time. With his recent exit from Boardwalk Empire I think he could be one to watch. At least one to entertain and shock.

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