Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Pedro Almodovar's 1989 offering, showcases a director enjoying his work intensely. Not only does the film clearly signpost a direction that many of his films were to take from then on (Not least Volver or Talk to her), but it stands alone as a fantastic piece of cinema.

One of the strengths of the piece, as so often remarked about other Almodovar's films, is the way in which he uses his camera work to give the audience a close-up of a life. It's regularly a woman, or a group of women, and there's a sensitivity to the portrayal that is a joy to watch. Here, it's Pepa (Carmen Maura; perhaps better known for her performance in Volver or Law of Desire), a voice-actress whose stormy relationship with Ivan (Fernando Guillen; he returns to Almodovar in '98 for All About My Mother, too) is finally coming to an end. He's a serial philanderer, it seems, and she clearly can do a lot better, but has let herself fall far too deeply in love with him. So she sets out both to attempt to win him back and also to get over him. A host of other people flit in and out of her life, and there's even a sort of step-son who makes an appearance (Banderas, no less). But really, it's Maura that rightly has pride of place in the film: she's beautiful to watch and her character just on the quirky side of charming and mad. The relationship between Maura and the camera is enchanting, and she's a witty character too, which makes it all the more pleasurable to watch.

The script is another strength here. I was watching with subtitles, but could make out enough of the spanish to follow that too: it's quick, light and with a plot that any writer would love to write. A good blend of pitfalls and developments that leave the audience grinning spice up what could potentially be a story that becomes bogged down in self-pity or man-hating. Instead, Pepa rushes about manically enough for it to be funny, but with awareness of her own madness enough for it to be touching and emotional. And, fortunately enough, the Hollywood-style schmaltzy ending is avoided here too. Instead, there's closure of sorts, alongside a splash of revenge, but there's also moving on, which must be worth more than that. 

I'll watch some more Almodovar and start writing proper reviews.

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1989

Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Fernando Guillen

Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar