I am Vicente.
After kicking off February with discussions of Albert Lewin’s 1945 adaptation of The Portrait of Dorian Gray (listen) and the perfectly serviceable remake of Friday the 13th (listen), we’re delving into the twisted mind of Pedro Almodóvar with his 2011 thriller The Skin I Live In.
In The Skin I Live In, skilled plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) has tried to develop a new super skin ever since his beloved wife was horribly burned in a car accident 12 years prior. Finally, Ledgard has created a skin that guards the body, but is still sensitive to touch. With the aid of his faithful housekeeper Marilia (Marisa Paredes), Ledgard tests his creation on Vera (Elena Anaya), a woman he keeps prisoner against her will in the basement of his Spanish mansion.
Being an Almodóvar film, there’s much more to this twisted plot than meets they eye.
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Episode 270: The Skin I Live In (2011)
Try to keep up with all the plot twists and turns because we’re discussing Pedro Almodóvar’s genre-defying 2011 thriller The Skin I Live In. Heed all of the content warnings on this one, folks!
Join us as we discuss our relationship with Almodóvar before parsing through this complex film with a look at the accusations of misogyny, transphobia and transmisogyny that have been lobbied against it. It’s an admittedly heavy conversation about a very challenging film (and we’d expect nothing less from Almodóvar).
Plus: unethical super skin, an actual Chekhov’s Gun, book-to-film comparisons, gray moral areas and a rare instance in which we wish the film were longer!
Cross out The Skin I Live In!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re taking a loot back at one of Neil Jordan’s recent efforts with the Isabelle Huppert/Chloë Grace Moretz thriller Greta!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for nearly 291 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01, Episode 02, No Way Up, Suitable Flesh, Lisa Frankenstein and, to coincide with the new Diablo Cody-penned film, our audio commentary for the month will be on Heathers.
The post Navigating the Controversial Gender Politics of Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘The Skin I Live In’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.