Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I have seen several Almodovar films and this is far and away my favorite. The acting is marvelous in the original Spanish, especially Maria Barranco as Candela, and a young Antonio Banderas in his pre-US fame days. However, if you obtain the DVD version of this movie, resist the temptation to use the English-dubbed soundtrack. Sadly, the English version is just not funny. The readings are flat and uninspired, and the translation is not always accurate; too literal in some cases, just missing the point in others. It appears that the English dialog was written more for a close match with the lip movements than for precise translation. Instead, use the Castilian Spanish audio track and savor the beautiful performances. If you don't understand the language, read the English subtitles, which are more appropriately translated, and still enjoy the original.

The title, 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', tells exactly what this movie is about. A couple of women who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The film has the form of a soap opera although it combines many genres; in the end it is just a terrific comedy.

One of the women is Pepa (Carmen Maura), an actress. An actor, Iván (Fernando Guillén), was her lover but now he has left her. Before he leaves town she needs to speak to him and that is one of her goals the entire film. Another woman is Candela (María Barranco). She is almost losing it because her boyfriend is an arrested terrorist. She fears her name will be mentioned and she will be arrested. We also meet Iván's ex-wife Lucía who is a little mad with Pepa since she was her ex-husband's lover. Iván's son Carlos (a young Antonio Banderas) visits Pepa's apartment together with his wife because they are interested in renting it. Other women including a lawyer called Paulina Morales (Kiti Manver), a couple of police officers and a cabdriver are also central characters.

Somehow all these characters with their own story lines come together somewhere in the movie. In the beginning it is a little hard to keep track, although director Pedro Almodóvar keeps things pretty organized with his soap opera approach. The film is comedy all the time but it has dramatic moments, thriller moments, action moments including a chase, crime moments, and even a western moment in a sublime touch when two women are face to face, both with a drink, instead of guns, in their hand.

Director Pedro Almodóvar, who has made the critically acclaimed 'Todo Sobre Mi Madre' ('All About My Mother') and 'Hable con Ella' ('Talk to Her'), here already shows us how gifted he is as a writer and as a director. He knows that comedy can be found in all things, including sad things like lost love and suicide. Instead of trying to create funny moments he just gives us a couple of characters in a room and trusts that their way of living is funny enough for an audience to like it. As with the two movies I mentioned earlier 'Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios' is a terrific example.

This is in my opinion the greatest Almodovar film ever! Its funny and serious, but mainly farscical, but its brilliant. Carmen Maura steals the show as a woman close to the edge, but her performance is fully backed up by all the rest of the cast. Antonio Banderas performance is excellent as a geeky young man, with his girlfriend and mother also shining. It combines all the elements of American comedy of the sixties but brings it back at us with a touch of latin spirit. This film in my opinion is a gem, for anyone who wants to laugh!

"Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is the first in hopefully what will be a long line of Almodovar films, I just watched it today at a free film screening when I was supposed to be seeing Fellini's 8 1/2 until the tape messed up. This was a very fine substitute.

The film contains all the elements of an absurdist play by the likes of Beckett, Stoppard or Ionesco. From its bizarre and essentially alienating dialogue, to its disjointed plot brought somewhat together by the end, it is an absolute delight to see such films around today.

All the characters are wonderfully developed and, like in a play, the narrative is light in plot but heavy in characters. It makes you think, not about the story it is telling since the story itself is ludicrous, and not about what is said for the same reason, but just about the way the characters interact with each other and how this can be applied to everyday life.

There are also some wonderful performances contained within. Each of the actors and actresses are so gutsy and alive inside this strange para-universe that Almodovar has created. It really is a treat to watch, with the persistently wry and often wildly ironic humour extracted to its full potential by the deadpan mock seriousness plastered across each character's face. It gives us a good laugh, not just at the film itself but at ourselves and the elements of us we can see in it. Plus the mambo cab is a dead-set winner.

After seeing this film, I am currently desperate to see another Almodovar. From this one piece I can see he is definitely a director worth celebrating and admiring and I will try to encourage many others to discover him for themselves. ****1/2 / *****

What I like most about this movie is the economy of it's writing and directing. There really isn't a wasted moment, nothing extraneous and that is what keeps the pace crackling and makes the movie watchable in every moment. It also has one of the GREAT ensembles ever. Carmen Maura as Pepa keeps herself on that verge for an hour and a half without ever really falling off the edge, it is a beautifully modulated performance. Maria Barranco as Candela is another performance that teeters on the edge of falling off into an emotional rubble but somehow manages to keep it together. Those two are delightful in every moment they are on screen. We can't forget Julieta Serrano as Lucia, the one truly crazy, post-breakdown woman in the story who brings a quality of self-awareness to her role that makes it a bit heartbreaking. She knows she is nuts and can't do a damn thing about it. And then there is VERY strangely attractive Rossy de Palma as Marisa, a virgin who needs nothing so much as she just needs to get laid to mellow her out. These women are all superlative, but Guillermo Montesinos as the Taxi Driver nearly steals the movie out from everyone and gives certainly the best male performance in the film. You have to see him to believe him.