Good movie but grossly overrated

Fresh and Exciting

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This reminded me of a less explicit/experimental take on the territory of Julio Medem's great film Sex and Lucia (2001). As with that particular work, The Law of Desire (1987) is about the idea of writing and how the boundaries between the film that we are watching and the ideas expressed by the characters therein inevitably intersect one another; creating a fold in the narrative where the real and the imagined become one persistent paradox that the audience must eventually decipher. It's an intelligent idea and one that is established right from the very first scene of the film, as Almodóvar offers us a provocative scenario in which a rent boy strips and masturbates for an unseen client who coaxes him via off-screen dictations. Eventually the scene is revealed to be part of a film within the film, written and directed by the lead character Pablo Quintero, as well as establishing a number of themes, such as power, obsession, love and manipulation that will continue throughout the rest of the film.Critical opinion would seem to be mixed, but for me, this was (and is) an excellent piece of work; brimming with the filmmaker's typically spirited direction, likable/charismatic characters and bold flourishes of production design, colour, composition and overall mise-en-scene. All of these factors would be enough to mark out a recommendation on their own terms, however, the presentation of the narrative and the way that Almodóvar manages to weave the various strands of the storyline together so as to remain constant and yet open to interpretation is really very special; as the film freely mixes elements of romantic drama, farce, detective fiction and a skillful comment on the nature of film and film-making into a beguiling and really quite engaging final form. Some have already mentioned the similarities to Adrian Lyne's film Fatal Attraction (1987) produced at the same time; however, whereas that film felt obvious and moralistic, Law of Desire is alluring and erotic, even when we can ultimately recognise that the intentions of the characters are misguided and their actions morally wrong.The subtle notion that Pablo is writing the film as we see it, rather than having it unfold naturally as a purely Hitchcockian tale of warped obsession is a fascinating idea, and ties together the importance of Pablo's typewriter and how the eventual destruction of it (and his retirement from writing) signals the eventual end of the film. Again, also foreshadowing elements of Medem's subsequent film, there is the importance of the picture postcard and how it spurs Pablo to re-write the story of his unrequited love and the mythical importance of the beach side paradise with its lighthouse standing as the ultimate phallic representation. There's also the idea of amnesia, in which we can see the definitive desire for Pablo to completely rewrite the actions of the film, using the confessional, autobiographical nature of his own script to create a more exciting parallel to his own loveless existence. Nevertheless, you don't have to read so deeply into these various thematic elements to enjoy the film, with the concept still functioning as a conventional thriller that works as a result of the skillful direction of Almodóvar and the subtly affecting power of the script.The film should also be commended for its suitably complex and sensitive portrayal of homosexual sex and gay relationships, adding something to the erotic and freewheeling tone of the film whilst also feeling true to the characters and the world that they inhabit. It also gives a certain dramatic weight to this truly excellent story of forbidden love pushed to the very extremes and tied to a collection of characters that - although deeply flawed and highly complex - are interesting enough to carry the burden of the director's expansive, meta-textual ideas. Unlike certain other films that have dealt with the same king of subject matter, The Law of Desire works because the characters are believable and the commitment of the performances, in particular from Eusebio Poncela as the filmmaker Pablo (a stand-in for Almodóvar himself, perhaps?) and Antonio Banderas as his volatile and enigmatic young lover really push the film into more emotionally affecting territory rare for the usually fun and frivolous tone of the Almodóvar of this period.

You will find all the familiar Almodovar devices here: telephones, drug use (cocaine in particular), dysfunctional families, sexual ambiguity, pedophile priests, and hospitals. These themes permeate his work, but they are woven intricately throughout this film.Pablo (Eusebio Poncela) is a writer/director of fantastic movies. He gets into the snares of an obsessive (Antonio Banderas in a great performance) who has a fatal attraction and will kill for his love. At the same time, he has to deal with his transvestite sister played by Carmen Maura (Volver, Women on the Verge, Matador) in another magnificent role.It is a melodrama about love as that is the overriding need for Banderas and for Maura, who has given up on men since her father left her. It is also about family. Of course, there is a crossing of genres as there is some comedy, but that is minor.Another magnificent Almodovar film.

I first saw snippets of this film ages ago and finally saw the whole film. Prior to watching this film, I've read countless hyped-up, mixed reviews over it. People say it's a great comedy, others say it's a kinky, perverted piece of work. I guess when this film was released in 1986, people didn't know what to make of it. And now after seeing this film, I don't blame them.I watched this film originally expecting a thriller. It has some thriller elements in it, especially towards the end, but the main plot - a gay film director pursued by a psychopath - is often overshadowed by the quite inappropriate story of the director's "sister" and her struggle to raise an ex-lover's daughter.You can see here a young Antonio Banderas as the 'baddie' of this film. Apparantely this was the first film where Antonio performs very hot sex scenes with another male actor.So is the film good? Yes... only if you're a fan of any of the cast, or of the director, or of dark kinky Spainish films in general. What are the flaws?... well there aren't any that I can pick out. It's a decent film with decent directing. Nothing to get too excited over.Perfect to watch on a quiet Saturday night.

This is not Almodovar's greatest film. The plot and script tends to melodrama, the acting is a little two-dimensional as a result. Almodovar returns to some themes over and over again in his films, so this film can be seen as an early glimpse of some of the key themes in All About My Mother and Talk To Her, both of which are great films in my view.But this film is worth seeing. The cinematography and the music are great. Almodovar's Madrid is always lovely to look at. And the plot takes its obvious and inevitable course at reasonable pace, so you don't get bored.