SAw the trailer for this film on Apple Trailers and was intrigued as it hinted at being an emotionally charged film in the 'Closer' category of hard hitting relationship dramas, but upon seeing it was let down by what turned out to be a quite commercial venture with some very unlikely developments.
First of all the premise is potentially rife for intrigue but the script dictates that the brothers hate each other and that Gonzalo, the younger one, would like nothing more than punish his brother. Then we find that Zoe and Ignacio have a very stale, unadventurous relationship. Then we find that Gonzalo is a painter and lives a very liberated life and that Ignacio lives in a grey, concrete, house as square as his spectacles. With this premise it becomes too obvious and not difficult enough for the affair between wife and husband's brother to happen.
The first meetings between Zoe and Gonzalo are simple exposition scenes where all they talk about is how much they really would like to have sex, and then they do. There is no danger apart from the husband being his brother. What makes for a truly intriguing scenario is when the danger is emotional - i.e. if the brothers were great friends and got along really well but the irresistible nature of the eldest brother's wife makes it impossible for the younger brother to resist - and if the marriage is a happy one. That would be a great premise and make the emotional danger far greater. Have a look at Liv Ullman's 'Faithless' for a film full of emotional danger and high stakes.
Surely the point of casting a woman as indescribably beautiful and sexy as Barbara Mori is to make Zoe irresistible to anyone and for the passion of a union with this dream girl to reach unprecedented heights. Instead we are taken through some rather dispassionate scenes between Gonzalo and Zoe that we are told are great through conversations between Zoe and (surprise surprise, never seen this before) her gay friend Boris.
Film is a visual medium and there was little visual evidence of this affair being at all more than some sex. It is in this kind of context where I think more explicit sexual content is entirely necessary in order to give the viewer the feeling of being part of an adult world where adults do adult things - like have illicit, passionate sex. Because sex is central to theme there needs to be more of it. Well, not more, but more realistic, more intense. Take 'Unfaithful' with Diane Lane and Richard Gere. The scenes between Diane Lane and her lover are very steamy and sensual and sexy, some even violent - which makes the illicit nature of their affair real and dangerous. Or look at 'Closer' where we are not given the sex visually but the full explicit sexual escapades are exposed through the argument between Owen and Roberts which is equally hard hitting through its graphic language. The most explicit scene in this film was between Gonzalo and his girlfriend Laura(Gaby Espino), who I guess has a more relaxed nudity clause than Mori, but which here makes it seem like that is more passionate than the central affair.
Aside from the lack of sexual power, there were plot points and character behaviours that felt crow barred. The only back story we get is that Zoe and Ignacio want a child and can't and that Ignacio apparently molested his brother when they were young. These two things are meant to give the reasoning behind why Zoe allows herself to have an affair and why Gonzalo so happily betrays his brother. Then we find that Ignacio is homosexual - which is to explain his lack of passion for the gorgeous Zoe. Fine, these are all valid ideas but how they develop is very trite and unlikely. The point at which Gonzalo talks about his brother molesting him comes from nowhere and quickly vanishes. There is no indication before - apart from Gonzalo being a bit angry at his brother - and there are no consequences after - Zoe never finds out and we don't know if it is true - nothing. The fact that Ignacio is homosexual is hinted at and when admitted is followed by a bizarre solution: he says that he will stay with Zoe forever and be a father but that he will have to have men sometimes. She is his life long love but he likes men - meaning he wants to be with her asexually, which she then says is fine and voilà, everything is rosy. They just deal with it!? Gonzalo meanwhile suddenly cares nothing for Zoe, as if his boyhood fantasy of her is gone, through the revelation she is pregnant with his child. There is also a very odd, unresolved scene where the gay friend Boris says he is happy to father the child - which Zoe thinks sounds like a wonderful idea. All these scenes are very much uncharacteristic of normal human behaviour and feel like the scriptwriter having run out of ways of tying things up and resorting to quick fixes.
Having said all that it somehow manages to be watchable and fairly entertaining film. Probably down to it being rather nicely filmed and the acting being quite strong. For any red blooded male just watching Mori is a delight, and she is not bad as an actress either. I suppose I think it could have been so much more, much stronger with a darker more intense edge which is what I have gotten used to seeing from Latin and South American films. Instead I was given a rather simple, commercially structured film with some nice scenes that carried little weight.
First of all the premise is potentially rife for intrigue but the script dictates that the brothers hate each other and that Gonzalo, the younger one, would like nothing more than punish his brother. Then we find that Zoe and Ignacio have a very stale, unadventurous relationship. Then we find that Gonzalo is a painter and lives a very liberated life and that Ignacio lives in a grey, concrete, house as square as his spectacles. With this premise it becomes too obvious and not difficult enough for the affair between wife and husband's brother to happen.
The first meetings between Zoe and Gonzalo are simple exposition scenes where all they talk about is how much they really would like to have sex, and then they do. There is no danger apart from the husband being his brother. What makes for a truly intriguing scenario is when the danger is emotional - i.e. if the brothers were great friends and got along really well but the irresistible nature of the eldest brother's wife makes it impossible for the younger brother to resist - and if the marriage is a happy one. That would be a great premise and make the emotional danger far greater. Have a look at Liv Ullman's 'Faithless' for a film full of emotional danger and high stakes.
Surely the point of casting a woman as indescribably beautiful and sexy as Barbara Mori is to make Zoe irresistible to anyone and for the passion of a union with this dream girl to reach unprecedented heights. Instead we are taken through some rather dispassionate scenes between Gonzalo and Zoe that we are told are great through conversations between Zoe and (surprise surprise, never seen this before) her gay friend Boris.
Film is a visual medium and there was little visual evidence of this affair being at all more than some sex. It is in this kind of context where I think more explicit sexual content is entirely necessary in order to give the viewer the feeling of being part of an adult world where adults do adult things - like have illicit, passionate sex. Because sex is central to theme there needs to be more of it. Well, not more, but more realistic, more intense. Take 'Unfaithful' with Diane Lane and Richard Gere. The scenes between Diane Lane and her lover are very steamy and sensual and sexy, some even violent - which makes the illicit nature of their affair real and dangerous. Or look at 'Closer' where we are not given the sex visually but the full explicit sexual escapades are exposed through the argument between Owen and Roberts which is equally hard hitting through its graphic language. The most explicit scene in this film was between Gonzalo and his girlfriend Laura(Gaby Espino), who I guess has a more relaxed nudity clause than Mori, but which here makes it seem like that is more passionate than the central affair.
Aside from the lack of sexual power, there were plot points and character behaviours that felt crow barred. The only back story we get is that Zoe and Ignacio want a child and can't and that Ignacio apparently molested his brother when they were young. These two things are meant to give the reasoning behind why Zoe allows herself to have an affair and why Gonzalo so happily betrays his brother. Then we find that Ignacio is homosexual - which is to explain his lack of passion for the gorgeous Zoe. Fine, these are all valid ideas but how they develop is very trite and unlikely. The point at which Gonzalo talks about his brother molesting him comes from nowhere and quickly vanishes. There is no indication before - apart from Gonzalo being a bit angry at his brother - and there are no consequences after - Zoe never finds out and we don't know if it is true - nothing. The fact that Ignacio is homosexual is hinted at and when admitted is followed by a bizarre solution: he says that he will stay with Zoe forever and be a father but that he will have to have men sometimes. She is his life long love but he likes men - meaning he wants to be with her asexually, which she then says is fine and voilà, everything is rosy. They just deal with it!? Gonzalo meanwhile suddenly cares nothing for Zoe, as if his boyhood fantasy of her is gone, through the revelation she is pregnant with his child. There is also a very odd, unresolved scene where the gay friend Boris says he is happy to father the child - which Zoe thinks sounds like a wonderful idea. All these scenes are very much uncharacteristic of normal human behaviour and feel like the scriptwriter having run out of ways of tying things up and resorting to quick fixes.
Having said all that it somehow manages to be watchable and fairly entertaining film. Probably down to it being rather nicely filmed and the acting being quite strong. For any red blooded male just watching Mori is a delight, and she is not bad as an actress either. I suppose I think it could have been so much more, much stronger with a darker more intense edge which is what I have gotten used to seeing from Latin and South American films. Instead I was given a rather simple, commercially structured film with some nice scenes that carried little weight.