"What do you want in life besides a man with the right shorts?"

Rating: 7/10 (19 October 2017)

Anyone else get the impression that Javier Bardem's character Juan Antonio had no interest in anything but sex? If you didn't perceive that along the way, then it becomes more than evident when he seduces Vicky (Rebecca Hall) the final time, regardless of her conflicted feelings and potential collapse of her fledgling marriage. If anything, the movie's theme can be best summed up by the character of Cristina (Scarlett Johannson), who the fiery Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) pegs as possessing 'chronic dissatisfaction'. That struck a chord with this viewer, as I'm sure many people of both genders are struck with a semblance of chronic dissatisfaction in their lives or careers. In this picture, it appeared that the condition applied to just about every principal and ancillary character, except Juan Antonio of course, since he found ways to satisfy himself virtually every day of the week.
This was a different kind of role for Bardem, hard to reconcile against his relentless assassin turn in "No Country for Old Men". He was just so smooth, one could actually envy him. But it's Cruz who gets my vote as the fulcrum on which this story pivots, just catch her expression when she arrives with a pistol to take out Juan Antonio. Wow! Such brazen hatred in someone so lovely. I don't know if that was enough to earn her the Best Supporting Actress because she wasn't on screen that long, and not until the latter half of the picture, but for the amount of time you saw her, she presented an amazingly complex character.
But when it all came to an end, it didn't seem like there was anyone left better for the experience. Life is like that sometimes, so I guess loose ends have their place. The one thing I could have done without in the story was the droning narration by Christopher Evan Welch. I found it more distracting than helpful, tending to lower one's expectations for something exciting to happen. What I would have liked was something larger written for Juan Antonio's father Julio (Josep Maria Domènech). He looked like a character waiting to happen.