Revolver Review
by Emily Corse (corse AT dca DOT net)November 12th, 2007
VOLVER (2006)
A film review by Emily L. Corse
Copyright 2007 Emily L. Corse
**** (out of ****)
Pedro Almodóvar makes films like no other director. At his best, he presents inventive, intimate studies of characters living life in all its real and surreal pain and humor. VOLVER, his 2006 feature, does this with enough panache to grant it status among Almodóvar's greatest films: WOMEN ON THE VERGE, TALK TO HER, and ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER.
Volver portrays the day-to-day life of a hard-working Madrid woman, Raimunda (Penélope Cruz), as she cares for her teenaged daughter, unemployed husband, and elderly aunt, while holding down several menial jobs to pay the bills. When Raimunda unexpectedly finds an opportunity to open an informal restaurant, she uses her community of family and neighbors to build a thing of joy.
Raimunda copes with crises of crime, death, abuse, and the undead with a matter-of-fact energy and healthy disregard for convention. Her strong connections to her family and her neighborhood give her strength and confident vitality, despite the complexities of these same relationships. Almodóvar allows Cruz a superstar role in this film and she deserved her "Best Actress" nomination at the 2007 Academy Awards. As usual, the supporting cast is rock solid, especially Carmen Maura as Raimunda's deceased mother and Lola Dueñas as her hairdresser sister, Sole. The film's actresses won the "Best Actress" award at Cannes for their ensemble performances, where Almodóvar received "Best Screenplay"--all well deserved.
The beauty of this film comes from its settings in working-class Madrid and Raimunda's native village in La Mancha, from its incandescent star, and from its powerful emotional truths. Bravo!
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
