A STRANGE WAY OF LIFE (2023)
Label: Sony Pictures Classics
Region Code: 1
Rating: R
Duration: 31 Minutes 8 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Digital with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Pedro Almodavar
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Ethan Hawke, Jason Fernández, José Condessa, Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, Sara Sálamo, Oihana Cueto, Daniela Medina
In Pedro Almodovar's English language queer western A STrange Way of Life (2023) two old west gunslingers with a shared past reunite after twenty-five years apart. Rancher Silva (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) rides a horse across the desert and into a dusty town to visit his friend Jake (Ethan Hawke, Daybreakers), now the sheriff of a dusty little town. Sharing food and drink they reminisce about their shared past, remembering a two-month romance they were embroiled in, and what could have been, before they share a bed for the night, The next day it is revealed that Silva's visit is no mere chance encounter, Silva's wayward son Joe (George Steane) is a wanted man, there's been a murder of a young woman, and he looks to be the culprit, and he's looking for mercy from his former lover.
Almodovar's 50's style western is lush and rich with color, at just thirty minutes it's a compact and incomplete tale, though we do get a flashback to their quarter-century ago romance, their younger selves portrayed by Jason Fernández and José Condessa in a lust-filled flashback. The melodrama of the short didn't always work for me, while Hawke and Pascal give their characters quite a bit of emotional weight I thought the chemistry between them wasn't exactly electric, but as two gruff gunslingers who were once lovers it works well enough, and could easily see this being fleshed out to a feature length flick. As a queer western it's sort of difficult not to recall Brokeback Mountain just a bit, and clearly this short doesn't reach those same heights, but if you're an Almodovar fan this is an interesting two-hander short well-worth a watch.
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