Written by: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, Rosario Flores
Rating: [3.5/5]
In a world reaching the point of overpopulation, the phenomenon of loneliness in an ever-isolating world despite the numbers speaking otherwise continues to rise in prevalence. An acknowledgment of the way individuals find it difficult to connect with others causing the uncomfortable but effective story we experience in Talk to Her. A film certainly made to get anyone who watches it talking even with the bad taste it leaves in your mouth.
Marco (Darío Grandinetti) and Benigno (Javier Cámara) meet at a theater and both feel an emotional connection to what they see and meet once again at a hospital where they both tend to two women they proclaim to love even with both of them being comatose in the moment. Through flashbacks, we see what has led to this circumstance.
Watching Talk to Her comes together as quite the film-watching experience because of the manner in which it details such a strange situation but what it seeks to say about them carries the quality. A film about two men acting upon a love they have for these women and they serve as confidants even when in a coma. Where the feature goes towards the third act rightfully enrages whoever watches it as it should but what the film seeks to communicate allows for quite the exploration of men’s views on women.
Through everything, this area succeeds so well that even with the way in which it ends, I cannot fully throw it all away. Through these two men, we see two individuals reckoning with the loneliness they have in their lives for various reasons. Benigno takes care of a mother in the final stages of life, while Marco feels a connection to Lydia (Rosario Flores) prior to what causes her to go into a coma but does not receive closure as their relationship ended on a cliffhanger where she wanted to share something important with them. Therefore, these two men hope and pray these women will awaken to somehow get the answers they want and in the meantime care for them.
Gender roles certainly play a significant factor in how this feature operates and having two men caring for the two comatose women, who have no control over their body at the moment does raise some red flags. It speaks on the bodily autonomy of these women and the brevity of life in a manner where it can go in a flash. While for much of the feature, we see Lydia and Alicia (Leonor Watling) in a coma, the flashbacks display the incredible lives they lived prior to whatever put them in this position. Lydia worked as a successful Matator and Alicia a dancer. They both succeeded and did well without the need of men while now lying dependent on them. As the title references, this speaks on how Benigno encourages Marco to speak to Lydia even in her comatose state because women can listen well even when not actively listening, essentially using them as a sounding board of a person.
The way Pedro Almodóvar frames this entire story makes it so engaging as we see these two pathetic guys trying to find meaning in their particular circumstances and specifically how these women find their place within it even without their consent. The structure he utilizes in order to communicate the ways in which this all occurs makes for quite an effective watch. Cutting from past to present in a manner tells the complete story of these women and the tragedy ahead of them because of such a small event while also displaying the horrific patheticness of these two guys. While the verbiage used by me reflects my own feelings towards them, a valid criticism against Pedro Almodóvar and his film appears in the sympathy he tries to continue to build for these two men in this story even when it does warrant it even in the slightest. He tries to create this uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience to sit in but perhaps plays it too soft on Benigno specifically.
Quite the unique film to experience, Talk to Her probably focuses much of its runtime on two men and their interactions with women unable to speak or even interact with them. As a whole composite, the feature breaks down some fascinating ideas about loneliness and bodily autonomy. Especially in the way it breaks down the narrative through its structure makes for something completely engrossing, but hinders itself when achieving its greatness because of the incredibly upsetting third act of the feature.
Films with Josh 
