"The skin I live in" is a horror-drama which leaves the viewer a little puzzled and doubtful, at least, for me it was difficult to give a definite judgment. I'm not a fan of Almodovar's movies, in this case it was certainly capturing and intriguing as there are interesting plot twists, the criticism concerning the unlikeliness, from a scientific and medical point of view, of the story is in my opinion totally out of place, since it is evidently and consciously implausible, as the director consciously built a totally unlikely story just to explore a very dear theme to him, that of identity. And indeed, the stunning idea that we can remain innerly untouched, although physically changed, comes out very clearly, sharply, and violently. What did not convince me: the story lines are not all well developed, moreover, the characters and their relationships are not enough explored. I also found that some typical elements of Almodovar's style, the red, the blood, sexual violence are too extremist, I perceived some morbid scenes and beastly characters as too exacerbated as to get repulsive. But these are simply part of a very "animal" and instinctual directorial way of looking at human behaviour, and I simply do not like this style that much.
Review of The Skin I Live In
