Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Law of Desire is a gay comic melodrama written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It’s about a love triangle between Pablo Quintero (Eusebio Poncela), Pablo’s lover, Juan (Miguel Molina), and Antonio Benítez (Antonio Banderas), an obsessed fan.
Like most Almodóvar films, there’s more than one story going. I’ll try to explain the main plot without spoilers.
Although Pablo is deeply in love with his much younger lover, Juan, he knows that Juan doesn’t feel the same. When Juan leaves to stay with his family in the south and work at a bar, Pablo writes a letter for Juan to sign and send back to him, which Juan does.
While Juan is gone, Pablo concentrates on his upcoming adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s play, The Human Voice. He casts his transgender sister, Tina (Carmen Maura), in the lead role. Tina is also taking care of her lesbian ex-lover’s daughter, Ada (Manuela Velasco).
On the opening night of The Human Voice, Pablo meets Antonio. Pablo brings Antonio home, and they have sex. This is Antonio’s first gay sexual encounter, and he becomes obsessed with Pablo and assumes they’re in a relationship.
While Pablo sleeps, Antonio wonders the house and discovers the love letter that Pablo wrote, and Juan signed. Antonio becomes jealous and confronts Pablo. Pablo explains that he’s still in love with Juan, which Antonio refuses to accept.
Antonio has to return home to his conservative mother. He asks Pablo to write to him using a woman’s name in case his mother sees it. Pablo does and explains that he’s still love with Juan and intends to join him.
After visiting the bar where Juan works, Antonio decides to seduce him. When Juan turns him down, the story takes a dramatic turn. The police get involved and Pablo becomes a suspect.
Some Thoughts:
Almodóvar is the king of outrageously twisted and complex plots. And like most of his films, the humor in Law of Desire is derived from characters saying the most outrageous things as if it’s everyday conversation. It’s foolishness at its highest.
Banderas plays Antonio with the conviction of a calm lunatic. After finding the letter from Juan, he breaks up with Pablo, then returns to reignite the relationship. And while Pablo sleeps, he wanders the house and searches through Pablo’s things. At one point he even purchases paint and spackle to patch the ceiling in the shower. Ther’s clearly something off about Antonio, but he’s so calm that it almost feels normal.
Antonio is obsessed with Pablo in a similar fashion as Pablo is with Juan. Antonio tells Pablo that Pablo loves him in a similar way that Pablo tells Juan that Juan is not in love with him. It’s very matter of fact, and neither Pablo nor Juan denies the comment.
There’s a side story about Pablo’s transexual sister, Tina, who is taking care of her lesbian lover’s ten your old daughter, Ada. The relationship between Tina and Ada feels natural, as if Tina is her biological mother. And when birth Ada’s mother shows up, Ada makes it clear that she would rather live with Tina, who would never abandon her.
While the relationship s between Tina, Ada, and Ada’s mother is interesting, Almodóvar casts it aside to showcase that of Tina, Ada, and Pablo. When the three of them are together, there’s a familial feel. And although this portion of the story doesn’t go anywhere, it enhances the film.
Final Verdict:
Law of Desire is an outrageous gay melodrama that only Pedro Almodóvar can deliver. It has his signature sense of humor and the usual cast of characters. If you’re an Almodóvar fan and have not seen Law of Desire, put it to the top of your list.
