Sony Pictures ClassicsThe procedure begins: Elena Anaya is the guileless guinea pig for mad doctor Antonio Banderas' new skin-grafting technology.The Skin I Live In is a kinky, brutal and unsettling blend of Nip/Tuck and Frankenstein— with distinctive flourishes by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
But the haunting medical thriller, while exquisitely photographed, can wear on the viewer with its convoluted, fractured narrative until the pieces start to fit together about halfway through. And while the story unquestionably disturbs in Hitchcockian fashion, it doesn't always resonate dramatically. The world of amoral characters keeps us from complete involvement.
Still, the chilling lead performance by Antonio Banderas is worth seeing. Banderas is diabolical and brooding in the off-putting role of an obsessed surgeon. After starring in five Almodóvar films early in his career, it's good to see the Andalusia native return to work with the innovative director in his native language. (The film is in Spanish, with English subtitles.) The last collaboration between the two was 1990's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! in which Banderas played a man just released from a mental hospital.
Brilliant plastic surgeon Robert Ledgard (Banderas) formulates a new kind of skin to replicate the real thing, and he uses the wide-eyed Vera (Elena Anaya) as his human test subject, grafting synthetic skin upon her as he holds her captive in his sprawling mansion.
The story flashes back several years to the rape of Robert's teenage daughter, Norma (Blanca Suárez), and the events that lead to Vera's captivity.
Crazed by vengeance for the deaths of his wife and daughter, Ledgard lacks any semblance of scruples. His scientific assistant is his loyal housekeeper, Marilia (Marisa Paredes), who, like Robert, is devoid of human decency.
As coldly calculating and infuriating as it can be, the film and its production design are stunning. But characters' actions and motivations are beyond comprehension.
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