Hable Con Ella (Talk To Her) (2002)

I feel violated by this film. It cannot accurately put into words on a page how this film held my hand throughout the first third, before pouring diesel on it and setting my arm on fire, and watched me slowly, slowly lose my mind by the end. Usually, I feel sick after watching a film because I've been staring at a blue light screen for 2 hours in the pitch black, and then I'm flashbanged by the lights and I begin to move as if I've been asleep for 1000 years. With this film, however, the gut-punch that is Talk to Her caused these feelings of overwhelming sickness.

The first half of this film is serviceable. I'd even go as far as to say it was good. Engaging, even. It seems like the perfect backbone for a great, uniquely Spanish movie. The characters have depth and surprisingly good chemistry. That's not to mention Rosa, the female Matador, being an excellent anchor to the narrative and an inherently interesting character. This is to be expected with Almodovar, where representation is handled excellently. However, as the story unfolds, we reach the second half, where Marco meets Benigno. Things go downhill from here.

It's impossible to denote the key factors that ruin this film for me without delving into spoiler territory. All I can say is that an abhorrant, disgusting and inhuman event occurs. This would be tolerable in film or TV usually, as the perpetrator pays comeuppance for their actions, and is disliked or disgraced by the lead. However, in Talk to Her, it comes across as the ending being left ambiguous. This is exceedingly uncomfortable for a number of reasons. Firstly, our perspective in the film, Marco, does not seem to be reacting to the situation in any way any other person would do. The reason for this is provided in the film, however to me it is a pathetically weak excuse for Marco's response to the disgusting actions of someone he knows. Secondly, the film attempts to provide an explanation to what spurred the character to commit such an act. This is in line with Almodovar, who likes to look at long-lasting stereotypes and show them in a new light. However, due to the nature of the film, this seems out of place. It is exasperated further as the film ends in a way which seems to promote thoughts in the audience, and make up their own mind on the proceedings of the movie. This is incredibly mishandled, and whether the Director intended it or not, it is very ethically concerning whether the subject should be presented in such a way. I'm not trying to censor this style, but warning the potential audience about how vile of a note the film ends on. In my opinion, not worth a watch.