Mothers one of Almodovar’s best
I was speaking recently with a friend about the films of Pedro Almodovar, and we found it difficult to describe his work to someone who’d never seen any of his movies. Infusing soap opera elements into the stories of his troubled characters’ lives, there’s an air of magic about his films that’s hard to put into words but once you see one or two of his movies, you’re able to recognize his distinctive approach. His latest, Parallel Mothers, is trademark Almodovar but with a political angle as well, one that addresses Spain’s troubled past as well as gender politics.
Penelope Cruz is Janis, a 40-something photographer having her first child. She meets troubled teen Ana (Milena Smit) in the hospital where they both give birth to daughters. They promise to stay in touch, unaware that fate has bound them together in ways that can’t imagine. Two devastating plot twists take the story in intriguing directions, but it’s the subplot revolving around Janis’ efforts to get a mass grave in her village dug up that provides the emotional punch. Almodovar’s unforgettable final shot drives home how the violence of the past affects the present, a lesson we’d be wise to heed. In theaters.
Gilded off to promising start
So, I missed the whole Downton Abbey thing. That being the case, I thought I should jump on Julian Fellowes’ new endeavor, The Gilded Age, his latest costume drama that gets off to a rousing start with its first two episodes. Taking place in New York City in the 1880s, it focuses on two families: the Brooks, old money scions of the Big Apple, and the Russells, new money interlopers who long to be accepted by the established upper crust.
As the Brooks sisters, Christina Baranski and Cynthia Nixon are effective opposites, the former the personification of snobbery, the later a kind-hearted soul who convinces her sibling they should take in their penniless niece Marian (Louisa Jacobson). Carrie Coon is Bertha Russell, a woman fiercely in pursuit of acceptance into the upper crust world she longs to be a part of. Already illicit affairs, nefarious business machinations and social upheaval are at play, the strong cast and solid writing promising an intriguing, multi-layered story. And the clothes! Simply gorgeous. Streaming on HBO Max.
Book belongs on shelf
So, listen to this premise: A struggling English author pens a novel that bombs, so much so that the only person that shows up at his one public reading does so by accident. Soon, stores are offering a “Buy One, Get Three Free” sale just to get this turkey off the shelves. However, the novel is the No. 1 book in Mexico, prompting the author’s publisher to ship him abroad on an impromptu book tour, where he’ll be accompanied by the woman who translated his story. Turns out, she added a lot of steamy details, turning his dull tale into a sexy sensation. He’s furious; she could care less; sparks ensue.
Frankly, this isn’t a bad rom-com scenario, yet somehow the makers of Book of Love botch it with bad casting and a leisurely pace. As the writer and translator, Sam Claflin and Veronica Echegui generate the same spark you’d get from striking a match in a monsoon while the rat-a-tat-tat speed with which their dialogue and the story should move is sorely absent. Couldn’t help but wonder what Cary Grant and Katy Jurado or Tom Hanks and Salma Hayek would have done with this material. File this one under “Missed Opportunities.” Streaming on Amazon Prime.
This article appears in More girls accuse detective’s son of sexual abuse.
