Pedro Amoldovar’s lavishly haunting tale, Talk to
Her, is deeply rich in unsound drama, as well as a certain,
bizarre sexuality. Written and directed by the Spanish master,
this is a truly heartfelt film; of captivating emotion. By its
cover, this is a movie, any virgin viewer would call
incomprehensible. But, when discovering its true meaning, one
finds that it is a miraculous tale about love, loss, and
addiction. Beautiful and intelligent, this is one of the best
films of the year. Talk to Her’s vivid writing,
healthy direction, and prosperous performances make it a
superbly astounding cinematic experience.
Amoldovar, who has always been known for dishing out bizarre and
ironic tales, clearly shows passion through his splendorous
writing. Crisply baked to a golden-brown perfection, in his
script, a line is never wasted. He has an amazing perception on
life, and this is made evident in each of his screenplays. The
value of normality, to a certain extent is shown to us through
strange and moody characters. Take the Amoldovar’s Benigno,
played by Javier Camara, for example. Benigno is a male nurse,
who falls in love with a patient of his, that’s in a coma. He
tries to talk to this woman, to comfort her, and they spend days
together. This relationship seems strangely real, even though
realistically, most people would deem him insane – which happens
several times in the film.
The
direction, also by Amoldovar, is a triumph to watch. As we see
the lives of many characters, in several scenarios, there is a
vacant ring of hope that emerges from the picture. Not to say
that he is anything short of a genius, Amoldovar’s shots are
nothing but astounding. I deeply respect him as a filmmaker.
There is a bizarre eeriness, derived from the shots, that is
extremely beneficial to Talk to Her. This is a
slowly haunting flick, and to my surprise, almost everything is
revolved at the end. This just shows us how good Amoldovar is.
Even having that said, after viewing such a mystical film, we
ponder its every twist. Talk to Her is nothing
short of magical.
Javier
Camara and Dario Graninetti perform with an emotionally engaging
wit. Graninetti is remarkable as Carlos, a man who first meets
Camara’s Benigno at a silent cinema showing. During this outing,
Carlos and Benigno never converse, but they manage to keep one
another in vacant memory (partially because Benigno was
vigorously sobbing through the film half of it). The two men
reencounter at a private clinic that Benigno works at. They are
drawn to each other, because each is stuck in the exact same
situation. Benigno is taking care of a patient in a coma, and
Carlos’ girlfriend has been thrown into one by a raging bull, by
its forceful gore. Camara and Graninetti capture the
heart-wrenching feelings that their characters have both
realistically and sentimentally.
Talk to Her hardly shows us the real strange side of
Amoldovar, but expresses as deep a meaning as one of his most
utterly bizarre picture-shows. Regardless of its, indeed, wacky
cover, it moves and preaches as beautifully, if not more, than a
straightforward film. Sadistically skillful, and stylishly
impacting, it is one of the few movies that have truly
captivated me from beginning to end, in this past year. Even
accepting the few flaws that come across during its duration,
Talk to Her is still an undeniably enriching
cinematic extravaganza.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews