Genre and Narrative

This chapter studies the genre and narrative of Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The narrative of Talk to Her flits between a double- and single-stranded plot line, plays with time with sometimes careless abandon, and contains coincidences that verge of the ridiculous. But yet, far from alienating the spectator, the narrative of Talk to Her pleasingly draws one in and lures the spectator into a position where they are able to suspend their disbelief, enjoy and engage with the plot. The spectator familiar with Almodóvar's films somewhat expects an unconventional narrative and thus is likely to find it unobtrusive. Meanwhile, like most Almodóvar's films, Talk to Her is hard to classify in terms of genre. Unlike the Hollywood system that relies heavily on either star or genre marketing, the marketing for Almodóvar's films relies heavily on his own status as an award-winning auteur film-maker. Talk to Her is thus not bound by generic convention in the way that many Hollywood films are.

Gender

This chapter evaluates how Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002) plays with the idea of gender being a fixed attribute and sees gender instead as something flexible and fluid. Gender roles in Talk to Her are arguably represented as a socially constructed rather than innately determined with characters in careers typically assigned to the opposite gender. Lydia is a female bull fighter in a typically chauvinist industry and Benigno is a male nurse in a very female heavy environment. Almodóvar's blurring of the strict rigid definitions of masculinity and femininity can be viewed as postmodernist. The chapter then considers gender performativity in relation to Almodóvar's body of films. In Talk to Her, Lydia, Marco, and Benigno can be seen to perform both male and female gender characteristics at different times.

Introduction

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The film offers much, both in terms of thematic analysis and micro analysis of the sound, performance, cinematography, editing, and mise-en-scène. Almodóvar can be considered to be a director who is a specialist in gender and the issue of gender identity is explored in Talk to Her, particularly the notion that gender characteristics are fluid and not fixed. Almodóvar's characters simultaneously embody and reject gender stereotypes and share both feminine and masculine attributes. Most of all, what makes Talk to Her such an interesting film to dissect, is the uneasy position that Almodóvar places the spectator in and how its messages and values create moral ambiguity. The film delivers morally complex, hazy messages about rape, voyeurism, and obsession and consequently, the spectator finds humour where they should find revulsion and sympathy where they should find anger. As a result, the film has sparked a great deal of critical, theoretical, and philosophical analysis, particularly around the issue of rape.

Audience and Critical Response

This chapter looks at the audience and critical response to Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The film can be thought to appeal to fans of Almodóvar and in this sense, whilst Hollywood often uses star marketing, the distributors of Almodóvar's films often position him as the star. Indeed, the campaign focused around Almodóvar as a cult figure. In his early career, Almodóvar had 'consciously cultivated the image of a celebrity auteur'. Moreover, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, Talk to Her is most likely to appeal to people with liberal attitudes and, in particular, liberal attitudes towards gender and sexuality in its continual rejection and renegotiation of traditional gender roles. Overall, the film received resoundingly positive critical acclaim. Even those who found Almodóvar's message troubling tended to be impressed by his technical expertise.

Mise-en-scène and Cinematography

This chapter examines Pedro Almodóvar's mise-en-scène and cinematography. Almodóvar's mise-en-scène is rich with intertextual references, whether it be from high culture, through the pastiche of other films, or through the mise-en-scène and the symbolism of props and costume. Heavily used visual motifs, such as 'the Matador', occur frequently in Talk to Her (2002), perhaps in homage and parody of the traditional Spanish iconography encouraged under the Franco regime. Similarly, Almodóvar is renowned for drawing upon and being influenced by Hollywood directors of the 1950s, such as Alfred Hitchcock and Douglas Sirk, and one can see influences from both of these directors in the film through the performances, bright colour palettes, and themes. Like the melodrama films of the 1950s and like the cinema of Hitchcock, Almodóvar's unique and distinctive style is classified by a somewhat obsessive attention to mise-en-scène. This is most noticeable in the domestic settings. Almodóvar pays close attention to objects, colour, painting, and production design, much of which has deeper symbolism and meaning.