Wednesday 18 June 2014

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown


I appreciated how Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown had many chaotic and crazy things going on within the plot, but kept it unique and avoided making it into a cliche Mr-Bean-everything-going-wrong type of film.
There was a focus on the relationships between all the characters in the film and it didn't have a heavier focus on the relationship between Pepa and Ivan. This made the film, for me at least, a lot more interesting to watch than had it been entirely focused on the main character's relationships.
The style of the film and the mise-en-scene was very reflective of the time, with a slightly surreal edge at times (like the view from the apartment). The style and colour reminded me of the very stylised, rather odd comedy, I'm So Excited (which I just Googled, and, coincidentally, the two films were both directed by Pedro Almodovar).


Both films feature quirky characters and fit within the comedy genre whilst dealing with the character's anxieties or drama in a humorous way. I'm So Excited also featured Antonio Banderas in a cameo role, and in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, I didn't actually realise that the character of Carlos was played by Banderas.
Whilst Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown had the opportunity to be quite slow, or have scenes that would lose the audience's interest, I found that I wasn't drifting away from the film. Almodovar has created an interesting, quirky film that I did quite enjoy (but I think I preferred the modern "throwback" style and lighter feel of I'm So Excited).

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