Strange Way of Life (2023)
Strange Way of Life Review
Strange Way of Life is a 2023 short film directed by Pedro Almodovar and starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. It’s an okay movie.
After twenty-five years, Silva rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Sheriff Jake. They celebrate the meeting, but the next morning Jake tells him that reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their friendship. This is a typical Almodovar endeavor in its homoeroticism and stylish filmmaking that defines all of his movies. But it’s also one of his slightest efforts in terms of storytelling. It’s clear that he had his idea, but didn’t have enough material for a feature, so he made a short movie instead.
The result is a film that is very simplistic and at times rushed as it sits uncomfortably at that half hour mark, not being short enough or long enough. The lack of chemistry between its two stars was noticeable, which is a shame as the movie focused so heavily on their relationship. Pedro Pascal was better here than Ethan Hawke, who seemed as if he did this just for a paycheck. Pascal was much more interesting and memorable as the sweeter side of this potential relationship.
The movie is sensual and sexy for sure, but the flashbacks do not do enough to make it truly romantic. It all seemed a bit rushed. The directing is great, the production design is strong and the movie’s costumes are obviously memorable given that a major fashion company worked on them. The use of models in the movie also made it sensual and tender, but I still wished for a more meaningful storyline overall, though the dialogue was very good.
