Julieta Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Rated R. Opens Friday at Century Suncoast.
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar returns to more subdued territory in the drama Julieta, following his manic, campy 2013 comedic misfire I’m So Excited, and he mostly succeeds, even if Julieta isn’t quite as rich as Almodóvar’s most acclaimed dramas. Based on a trio of short stories by Canadian writer Alice Munro (transposed to Spain), Julieta features actresses Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte playing the title character at different points in her life, as the movie explores the origins of her estrangement from her daughter Antía.
Almodóvar opens with Suárez as the middle-aged Julieta, suddenly reminded of her daughter when she runs into one of Antía’s childhood friends. That reminder of the child she hasn’t seen in 12 years sends Julieta into a tailspin, as she breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, abandons plans to move out of Madrid and starts to re-examine her life and the choices that led to her break with Antía. Ugarte then takes over as the young Julieta, whose life the movie explores in extensive flashbacks, as she meets Antía’s father and embarks on an unlikely romance and family life.
As might be expected from stitching three separate stories into a single feature film, Julieta is a bit meandering and digressive, especially a middle portion in which Julieta visits her parents with a young Antía in tow. But Almodóvar’s skill at bringing vibrant female characters to the screen serves him well here, and the lead actresses are both excellent as a melancholy woman whose life slowly slips out of her control. Although the director tones down his typically vibrant color palette, the movie is still filled with splashes of bright reds and blues, the vivid environment often contrasting with the characters’ internal turmoil.
The movie is also a mystery of sorts, as Julieta’s flashbacks slowly move toward her break with Antía, and Alberto Iglesias’ score builds a sense of ominous dread as Almodóvar teases various secrets. But Julieta isn’t a thriller, despite its vaguely Hitchcockian overtones, and anyone expecting shocking revelations will be disappointed in what is mostly a low-key family drama. Thwarting those expectations often works in the movie’s favor, although the open-ended conclusion feels more awkwardly incomplete than elegant. Almodóvar has created fuller, more satisfying portrayals of women’s lives in films like Volver and All About My Mother, but here he still finds emotional power in the quiet moments and in the bonds of family and romance that prove to be stronger than the people they hold together.
