At just thirty-one minutes Pedro Almodovar's "Strange Way of Life" is hardly subtle. Basically it's 'Lust in the Dust' with a gay slant, (Think "Last Train from Gun Hill" with Douglas and Quinn as former lovers), and as it stands it's undoubtedly minor Almodovar but if it's just a taster it's really rather a delicious one and we can only pray that he extends into a full length feature soon.
Ethan Hawke is the local sheriff and Pedro Pascal his old bedmate who comes riding into town in the hope of rekindling their passion but is that his only motive as Hawke is about to arrest Pascal's son for murder? Considering the running time Almodovar manages to cram a lot in and both leads are excellent. It's also great to look at; this is definitely a Technicolor kitsch Wild West. Naturally it all ends too soon so that feature length version is something of a must.
For some reason, I'd thought it was 45 minutes. My husband and I are both Almodovar fans and are thinking of seeing this tomorrow. Nice write-up, btw.
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