For many years, Pedro Almodovar was widely known as the bad boy of Spanish cinema. In the 1980s, many Spanish filmmakers tried to exploit creative freedoms suppressed during Franco's rule, but few took such iconoclastic delight in doing so as Almodovar did. By the 1990s, with Franco's era and its conservative values becoming a distant memory, Almodovar's films with their campy and farcical treatment of sex and violence were becoming obsolete. Almodovar reacted to this by making more conventional films, one of which was the 1997 drama Live Flesh.
The plot of the film was based on the novel by famous British mystery writer Ruth Rendell. Victor Plaza (played by Liberto Rabal) is a pizza delivery boy who recently lost his virginity to Elena (played by Francesca Neri), the drugged-out daughter of an Italian diplomat. Victor wants to start a serious relationship with Elena, who, for obvious reasons, can't remember the incident and doesn't want to see him again. They start to argue, and two policemen - David (played by Javier Bardem) and his alcoholic partner Sancho (played by Jose Sancho) - come to intervene. In the ensuing scuffle, a gun goes off and David is paralyzed from the waist down. Six years later, Victor comes out of prison and wants revenge.
Those accustomed to the outrageously bizarre characters of Almodovar's previous films are going to be shocked by the down-to-earth normality of Live Flesh. The characters in this film are those most people can imagine encountering in real life; the only bizarre thing is the specific set of circumstances that affect their relationships. Even the seemingly outrageous character transformations in this film are believable in the context of the story. Almodovar handles this uncharacteristically "normal" story quite well, helped by a talented cast. Javier Bardem is very effective in the role of the macho cop being reduced to a cripple, while Francesca Neri handles the role of the spoiled diplomat's daughter very well. On the other hand, Almodovar was less fortunate in the choice of music - Alberto Iglesias' score is inadequate for this type of film and may be annoying to the audience. Another flaw of the film is an unnecessary prologue set in Franco's era and an ending that points out how Spain has changed for the better after those bleak times. Live Flesh was far from perfect, but for Almodovar, it was a step in the right direction.
RATING: 6/10 (++ )
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on June 15th, 2004)
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