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In his latest film, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has learned this lesson well. He tempers his typical stylistic exuberance -- evident in films such as Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down -- with a serious look at what lies beneath the foundation, blush, and lipstick.
The title is a reference to the movie All About Eve, a film in which the iconic Bette Davis contemplates the little tragedies of being an actress and a woman, which she regards as separate "careers."
It is while watching this film that young writer Esteban (Eloy Azorin) is inspired to write his own work titled All About My Mother. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is indeed an intriguing subject. She has raised Esteban by herself from birth. And she has eradicated any trace of Esteban's father, tearing all incriminating photographs in half. But as her son approaches his 17th birthday, he asks to know about his father "as a birthday present."
But before she can oblige, Esteban is tragically killed when he is run over by a car while chasing after a stage diva, Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes).
Manuela discovers her son's notebook and reads its final entry, in which Esteban expresses curiosity about his father. In tribute to her dead son, Manuela leaves Madrid for Barcelona, where she searches for Esteban, Sr., a former actor who has embraced transvestitism but not abandoned heterosexuality and now goes by the name "Lola."
But Manuela is distracted in her search. She discovers Huma is also in Barcelona, performing as Blanche in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Like Anne Baxter's Eve, Manuela insinuates herself into the actress's life, but her intentions are not as sinister.
She also meets with a transvestite acquaintance from the old days, Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who, in turn, introduces her to a troubled young nun, Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz). Months earlier, Rosa had her own fateful encounter with Esteban/Lola. Manuela's personal history is destined to repeat itself, like one of those nightly performances of A Streetcar Named Desire ...
Unlike his previous efforts, Almodovar doesn't skim over the tragedy that afflicts his heroine. Perhaps Roth wouldn't let him. In a terrific performance, she plays her character's hurt at full throttle, without a trace of irony.
But that's not to say the film isn't itself playfully ironic in the way it layers its little tragedies upon these indomitable women.
Dedicated to actresses, women, and men who dress as women, the film is a heartfelt celebration of femininity ... in all its forms.
Don't just take my word for it. Oscar liked it too. All About My Mother was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award on Tuesday.
(This film is rated AA)