Film
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
- Director
- Pedro Almodovar
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 88 mins
A convoluted plot, off-beat humour and great style combine to produce a sort of Spanish Diva in Pedro Almodovar‘s endearing, Oscar-nominated 1988 comic fantasy.
The splendid Carmen Maura stars as Pepa, an actress who appears in hilariously tasteless TV ads. She’s just discovered that she’s pregnant by departed boyfriend Ivan and seems hell-bent on self-destruction until she’s visited by a whole bunch of other people and their problems, including Ivan’s son Carlos (the young Antonio Banderas), of whose existence she wasn’t previously aware. Ms Maura races through the tortuous contrivances of the plot with manic energy and, despite the subject matter, the film exudes an infectious optimism. It’s back on screen to launch the Watershed’s Comedy Genius season.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
