Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal play ex-lovers on opposite sides of the law. Hawke is the sheriff of a small Western town. He’s vowed to arrest Pascal’s fugitive son. Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life is his second English language film. In 31 minutes, he explores the homoerotic and violent themes of the Western genre. The work was heavily hyped before its premiere. Sadly, it feels like a rough draft.
Hawke and Pascal give stilted performances. Hawke is speaking in a silly Batman growl. Pascal’s character is meant to be a romantic. But his longing for Hawke is unconvincing. Watch the scene where Antonio Bandares meets his old flame in Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory. You’ll see the chemistry that’s missing here.
Audiences hoping for eroticism will feel cheated. Almodóvar fades to black when the men reconnect. We get a brief shot of Pascal’s bum the morning after. (That’s enough to satisfy a third of the critics on Letterboxd.) If you want a kiss, you’ll have to settle for a flashback to the other actors playing the men’s younger selves. Were Hawke and Pascal afraid to kiss on camera? If yes, then why accept these roles?
Then there’s the outlaw son and the plot to sift through. Soon the credits roll. The romance they teased never occurs. Disappointing.
The screening was paired with Almodóvar’s short film The Human Voice. Tilda Swinton has a glamorous breakdown on a candy-colored set. She is consoled by a very good dog. Almodóvar is revisiting the play that inspired his hit Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Swinton is infused with the passion that Wes Anderson’s recent projects have denied her.
You can find more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.