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CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Blu-ray Review: Pedro Almodovar Returns with Scintillating ‘The Skin I Live In’
Submitted by BrianTT on March 8, 2012 - 3:09pm
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The Skin I Live In was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6, 2012
Photo credit: Sony
“The Skin I Live In” stars Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya. It was written and directed by Pedro Almodovar. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6th, 2012.
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CHICAGO – Almost as if he set out to defy critics who had started to think that the masterful Pedro Almodovar had lost a little bit of that psycho-sexual edge that made the first half of his career so unpredictable, the Oscar winner delivered “The Skin I Live In,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, and we all breathed a sigh of relief — Pedro hasn’t lost a damn thing. Highly underrated at the end of 2011, this was one of the best foreign films of 2011, featuring one of Antonio Banderas’ most spectacular performances in a film that goes from mystery to horror to something only Pedro could produce.
 Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
“The Skin I Live In” is essentially a Dr. Frankenstein tale with a truly Pedro sensibility. Written by Almodovar from a novel by Thierry Jonquet, the film opens with the introduction of what seems like a very reasonable and intelligent man — Dr. Robert Ledgard (Banderas), a scientist who is developing a synthetic skin impervious to outside conditions after the death of his wife in a car accident. She wouldn’t have burned up if she had this new skin. However, the first sign that Ledgard is not quite what he seems is when we learn that he has a captive in his basement (the gorgeous Elena Anaya) with whom he is clearly experimenting. Before you can wonder if this is supposed to be a likable protagonist, a flashback drops a bomb and you realize that the entire film may not have been what you expected.
With a fearless, stunning performance from Banderas and production design that should have been Oscar-nominated, this is a film that history will look back on more kindly. When a filmmaker is as widely-renowned as Almodovar, there seems to be a sense that he needs to deliver a “Talk to Her” or “Volver” every time. This may not be up to those standards, but it’s not that far and the fact is that if anyone but Pedro had directed it than it would have made enormous waves. Then again, no one but Pedro could have made “The Skin I Live In” in quite the same way.
The Skin I Live In was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 6, 2012
Photo credit: Sony
Synopsis:
Special Features:
o The Making of The Skin I Live In
o On the Red Carpet: New York Premiere
o An Evening with Pedro Almodovar (Blu-ray exclusive)
 | By BRIAN TALLERICO |
