Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory features a tremendous performance from Antonio Banderas – maybe the performance of his career. Playing a thinly fictionalized version of Almodóvar, Banderas shows a vulnerability and emotional honesty that stars of his stature rarely allow. This leads to some profoundly moving scenes as the character reconnects with his past and comes face-to-face with many of the deep regrets of his life. Some of the expositional voice-overs – while clever and fun – feel out of place and disconnected with the rest of the film, and I’m not sure that the ways Almodóvar structures the flashbacks and time shifts completely work. Still, it’s the performances that really sell the film, and there was enough going on with plot, structure, and imagery to keep me emotionally invested and eager to revisit and potentially reassess my first impression.
