How to even begin with the twisty tale Pedro Almodóvar weaves in this early 2010s Spanish thriller? An easy entry point would be the star, Antonio Banderas, whose handsome features almost trick you into thinking his plastic surgeon Robert isn’t completely off his rocker when he kidnaps the man who sexually assaulted his daughter and performs non-consensual gender reassignment surgery on him. But if that description worries your Woke 3.0 head, let me say this: That’s not really the sticky part of the story. What remains like gum on your mind’s shoe is the horror of misogyny – how it demands control over everything including the flesh. – James Scott
