WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN Movie Review

Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios

The wonderful Carmen Maura is Pepa, a woman whose life is coming apart at the seams, thanks to her elusive, maddening ex-lover, Ivan (he's just decided to dump her and she's just discovered she's pregnant), his new girlfriend, his son (Antonio Banderas), and his son's girlfriend (the truly weird Rossy de Palma).With so many people manipulating and controlling her, it's no surprise that Pepa makes her living dubbing the voices for movie actors—supplying the emotion for other people's lives. Oh yes, there are terrorists, too, and suspicious cops, and a pleasantly crazed, flamboyant taxi driver who keeps picking up Pepa his cab boasts a sign that reads “Thank You for Smoking”).There is drugged gazpacho, and a big climactic scene at the airport, but above all, there is the joy of comic timing so perfect and satisfying that watching this joyous work by Pedro Almodóvar is like looking a big, beautiful, perfectly oiled machine, packed with an impossibly large number of gears, all of which seem to do just what they're supposed to at exactly the right moment. That's not to say that Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown feels mechanical, either; the thing you marvel at the most is how Almodóvar manages to make such a delicate house of cards seem so alive and spontaneous. A good deal of it has to do with his cast, particularly the great Carmen Maura, who seems to be carrying the whole world on her sturdy shoulders. The design, cinematography, and editing are snappy, ingenious, and always at the service of the genuinely sweet screenplay, which is tough and touching and never misses a step. It works just fine on video, but if you get the chance to see it with a big audience, do.

NEXT STOP … What Have I Done to Deserve This?, The Flower of My Secret, Live Flesh

1988 (R) 88m/C SP Carmen Maura, Fernando Guillen, Julieta Serrano, Maria Barranco, Rossy de Palma, Antonio Banderas; D: Pedro Almodovar; W: Pedro Almodovar; C: Jose Luis Alcaine; M: Bernardo Bonazzi. New York Film Critics Awards ‘88: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘88: Best Foreign-Language Film. VHS, LV, Letterbox ORI