I didn’t know what to expect, but expectations were definitely met.
First of all, I did not know that there would be a narrator, Christopher Evan Welch, but I enjoyed that aspect of the movie. I do have somewhat of a bias in favor of narrators, but it really did help in this movie.
The story goes like this: Two girlfriends go to Spain for the summer and end up falling for the same guy who just happens to have an insane, and insanely gorgeous ex-wife, Penelope Cruz. In fact, all of the women in this movie happen to border on the insanely gorgeous - extremely beautiful range.
Scarlett Johansson does an excellent job as the more promiscuous, misunderstood, and experimental friend. She appears to be one of those misguided and naive women who want to tour with rock stars and have threesomes with darkly mysterious Spanish painters, when compared along side her friend and opposite, played by Rebecca Hall, the considerably more well grounded realistic, and engaged of the two.
Javier Bardem plays the Spanish hunk in the movie who creates turmoils between friends, newly married couples, and overly eccentric and dark ex-wives. I do not recall seeing him in any other movies, even though he does share a devilish similarity to Denny Duquette of Grey’s Anatomy. Still, he seems like the perfect guy to play Juan Antonio Gonzalo, an extremely charming and sexual painter.
Penelope Cruz is a bombshell, in all possible and imaginable ways. She is actually not in most of the movie, but when she does appear things definitely get interesting. She plays Juan Antonio Gonzalo’s ex-wife, a woman that has an intense attachment to him, death, love, painting, drama, and sometimes, suicidal attempts. She is phenomenal in this movie. This was the perfect role for her and she played it wonderfully.
Woody Allen made a slam dunk when he directed this movie. He was subtle and in your face at the same time. There are many elements in this movie that sneak around the main plot, but add a great deal of drama and understanding to the story itself. Scenes involving any one of the four main cast members, Scarlett, Rebecca, Javier, or Penelope are enthralling, romantic, and real.
I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is romantic and dramatic, but it is also dark and humorous. Plus, it will really make you want to go to Spain.
