VENICE 2021: Parallel Mothers ‘Madres Paralelas’
VENICEPedro Almodóvar's latest feature, Madres Paralelas, is a compelling and compact layered conundrum of tragedy both past and present powered by fabulous performances all around.
Almodóvar intertwines the lives and womanhood of two single mothers in a chance meeting. Their respective stories brood and boil with an emotional explosion, consistently taking form and shape only to redefine and reassess with a constant pace. This fluidity and continual motion craft the compelling nature of proceedings: it is unpredictable but ferociously determined never to be defined as linear or straightforward. Granted, the edit within the first act does draw a somewhat shaky start. Cuts attempting to be seamless edits into different times and places offer a slightly jarring experience. Nevertheless, delivering such visual and verbal exposition strikingly and creatively should be commended.
While one could ironically place this in melodrama territory, a trait not so distant from Almodóvar's work as a whole, Madres Paralelas ducks consistently, weaving such a sentiment and ultimately layering itself in a delicate and tender poignancy. The tone overall, quite frankly, is brilliantly balanced. Never overly quirky but placed suitably is Almodóvar's trademark humour.
However, it is the dramatic and darker nature that runs through the piece as thick as blood. Almodóvar’s feature is filled with emotional and often cruel moral conundrums to a staggering degree. Harrowing does not quite state the emotional travesties that are presented here. Nevertheless, both past and present, the fluidity of tragedy is intertwined and weaved together to serve up gut punches. This material is shared between the duo of Penélope Cruz as Janis and Milena Smit as Ana. The former is on a career-high; her creation of Janis is a fabulous concoction of the actor’s range and undeniable depth that is projected in terrific use of body language and delivery of dialogue – elements that are so effortlessly produced they will sadly go unnoticed with such talent.
Milena Smit equally produces a thoughtful turn. An actor that continues to find her feet in this medium, yet a performance is crafted far beyond her years. The sheer emotional gravitas that has to be produced within this performance is staggeringly sharp and gargantuan mountain to climb, but Smit conquers such a peak.
For what Madres Paralelas lacks in the auteur’s production and set design, which feels strangely loose and restrained, Almodóvar's feature makes up for loose ends in a thought-provoking and emotionally ferocious, detailed narrative. It is a feature that has heart, passion and soul. One that strikes unwanted fear into the viewer but does so with poignant and layered intent, placing yet another creative piece of bravado in the filmography of a consistent auteur.
