Pain and Glory Review: Pedro Almodóvar’s Movie Boasts Super Performances

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Cecilia Roth, Raúl Arévalo
Rating: 15
Running time: 113 mins 
Release date: 23/08/2019

Pedro Almodóvar has enjoyed a successful career spanning over 30-plus years of filmmaking and with his latest movie, PAIN AND GLORY, the visionary mastermind has created one of his best films to date.

The movie is a melancholic and emotional tale about an ageing and artistic director, played superbly by Antonio Banderas who has taken on the role of Salvador Mallo. We meet him at the beginning of the film as a young boy living in poverty before being brought back to the present day where he is an ageing, gay, Madrid-based individual living alone in a retro-chic apartment (which is the very one in which Almodóvar himself lives). 

As per the title, it is clear that Salvador is suffering with both physical and emotional pain. Having had operations on his spine which inhibits his movement, difficulties with asthma and a whole host of other ailments, the audience can’t but help feel sorry for the once successful director who is clearly battling depression too. Living on a huge daily dose of medication, he is no longer working and barely leaves his apartment aside from necessary excursions.

With regard to the ‘glory’ aspect of the title, it’s largely in regards to his reputation as a director, as he received critical acclaim for his movie, Sabor (Taste). Salvador is unexpectedly invited to a lifetime achievement award with a Q&A with the audience afterwards at a local arthouse cinema.

There is a slight technicality for Salvador, as he hasn’t spoken to its leading man, Alberto (Asier Etxeandia), since production finished on the movie due to his taking of heroin during filming. Despite his previous despise for the man, he decides to visit the actor at his house and asks if he will attend the Q&A with him at the cinema.

Surprisingly, there is no time wasted on the reconciliation between the two and Salvador ends up smoking heroin with him despite the fact that the drug was the reason they parted ways to begin with. As expected, the director develops a craving for more. 

As the story unfolds, PAIN AND GLORY beautifully transfers between time from Salvador’s youth with his mother (Penelope Cruz), to the present day and his difficulties and we learn more about the director’s past. In exchange for some heroin, Salvador lets Alberto stage a monologue he has written as a one-man show.  Salvador requests anonymity or for the piece to be under a pseudonym, but in the end, they decide that Alberto will claim to have written the monologue.

The monologue is beautifully and wistfully delivered by Etxeandia, which does draw a tear to the eye and an understanding of why Salvador disliked heroin so much. His old flame, Federico played by Leonardo Sbaraglia, was also an addict, which resulted in the eventual ending of their relationship. By chance, he is also in attendance at the theatre watching the monologue knowing instantly who really penned the script, resulting in a brief reconciliation with Salvador proving to be just the tonic he needed to fight his illnesses and get better again.

Throughout the movie, Banderas’s performance is emotional and nuanced. There may be times when you feel frustration with his lack of drive; his seemingly willing attitude to give up and spend his days inside, but you will feel differently when you realise what he has gone through in life in the monologue and via flashbacks towards the end of the film.

Fans of Almodóvar’s work will really appreciate his trademark richly coloured production design interjected with the subtle piano composition in the background. The movie is a stylised summary of his life and work.

Although the film has subtitles, it should not put viewers off from watching the movie, as the pace moves slowly and it is easy to understand with enough time to read.

PAIN AND GLORY is emotive, relatable, pensive and boasts subtle and soulful performances from the cast. 

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