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"Breaking up is hard to do", said the song. It leaves us in misery and pain, it brings back memories of better times and makes us want to crave that again. That is the predicament in which Tilda Swinton's character finds herself in this Pedro Almodóvar short.
The Human Voice follows Swinton's unnamed character as she walks around a stage/apartment, apparently after being left by her lover. After some cathartic moments of frustration and anger, she receives a call from the man, who we never see or listen, and she proceeds to talk with him for the rest of the short going through a series of emotional ups and downs.
Like La concejala antropófaga, this is another opportunity that Almodóvar gives to an actress, Swinton in this case, to run wild with a monologue that seems to be tailored for her. This one is actually based on a play, but Swinton totally owns the role and makes the most out of every sentence and inflection. She is spectacular in it.
I was again impressed by Almodóvar's shot framing, use of color, set decoration, and overall mise-en-scène. If this is how he directs, I'm definitely gonna have to check out more of his stuff.
Grade:
THE HUMAN VOICE
(2020, Almodóvar)
A film from Pedro Almodóvar
(2020, Almodóvar)
A film from Pedro Almodóvar
"I'm a waste. I'm a ruin of what I once was."
"Breaking up is hard to do", said the song. It leaves us in misery and pain, it brings back memories of better times and makes us want to crave that again. That is the predicament in which Tilda Swinton's character finds herself in this Pedro Almodóvar short.
The Human Voice follows Swinton's unnamed character as she walks around a stage/apartment, apparently after being left by her lover. After some cathartic moments of frustration and anger, she receives a call from the man, who we never see or listen, and she proceeds to talk with him for the rest of the short going through a series of emotional ups and downs.
Like La concejala antropófaga, this is another opportunity that Almodóvar gives to an actress, Swinton in this case, to run wild with a monologue that seems to be tailored for her. This one is actually based on a play, but Swinton totally owns the role and makes the most out of every sentence and inflection. She is spectacular in it.
I was again impressed by Almodóvar's shot framing, use of color, set decoration, and overall mise-en-scène. If this is how he directs, I'm definitely gonna have to check out more of his stuff.
Grade: