{"id":11243,"date":"2020-05-08T16:18:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T20:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=11243"},"modified":"2026-05-19T16:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:46:00","slug":"law-of-desire-1987","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=11243","title":{"rendered":"Law of Desire-1987"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law of Desire-1987<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Pedro Almodovar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,021<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed May 8, 2020<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Law of Desire or La ley del Deseo (as translated in original Spanish) is a 1987 film written and directed by Pedro Almod\u00f3var.<\/p>\n

Quite groundbreaking for its time and penned by a respected director, the film was rich in offering what was rarely presented in films during the 1980s- a complex love triangle between two men and a trans woman.<\/p>\n

The fact that the trans woman is the sister of one of the men is a bonus for the soap opera premise.<\/p>\n

In 2020, when LGBTQ+ films are more plentiful in cinemas (at least at the indie level), Law of Desire suffers slightly from a dated feel, and parts drag.<\/p>\n

It’s tough to criticize a piece this brazen when it was released in arthouse and musty metropolitan theaters.<\/p>\n

As groundbreaking as the film must be given credit for, the story now feels sillier than it should, and more outlandish than it probably intended to be over thirty years ago.<\/p>\n

The fabulous setting of Madrid, Spain, is the backdrop for the luscious tale of love, obsession, jealousy, and revenge, think the prime-time television series Dynasty on steroids.<\/p>\n

Cocky Pablo (Eusebio Poncela), a successful gay film director with his pick from a bevy of young, good-looking gay males, is madly in love with Juan (Miguel Molina), though he has a roving eye.<\/p>\n

Suave Antonio (Antonio Banderas), who comes from a conservative family, is new to the gay scene and falls madly in love with Pablo when Juan goes to find himself.<\/p>\n

Tina (Carmen Maura), who likes men and women, has just been dumped and is vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Besides the obvious daring gender-bending, this story could be a simple one told many times across many genres.<\/p>\n

Almod\u00f3var spins things into a frenzy as the plot unfolds, adding manipulations, subplots, and bizarre characters into the mix.<\/p>\n

For example, Ada is Tina’s surrogate daughter and is a precocious ten-year-old girl in love with Pablo. Ada refuses to go back with her mother (Bibi Andersen\/Bibiana Fern\u00e1ndez<\/span><\/span>) when her mother returns to whisk her off to Milan to meet a man she has just met.<\/p>\n

The gay subtext is what is center stage here. Back in the 1980s, the term LGBTQ+ was on nobody’s radar, and having any representation at all in cinema was still a territory barely scratching the surface.<\/p>\n

This point kept returning to me throughout the film, and I imagined how fresh the experience would have been to any gay man or gay woman fortunate enough to have seen it. I am not sure any of the characters would serve as great role models, but the representation is nice.<\/p>\n

Almod\u00f3var adds a good deal of naked flesh for an added treat.<\/p>\n

Several comic scenes arise with gusto. Antonio, who lives at home with a religious zealot of a mother, convinces Pablo to sign his letters from “Laura P”, a character from his latest play, to trick Antonio’s nosy mama.<\/p>\n

Tina, not much of an actress, is cast in Pablo’s one-woman theatrical productions. She thinks her performance is great, but Pablo thinks she stinks. The comical moments are the ones that work best, giving the plentiful offbeat characters a chance to let loose and shine.<\/p>\n

Towards the conclusion, Law of Desire takes a tragic and Shakespearean turn. A drunken Juan is thrown off a cliff to his death, prompting an investigation with Antonio and Pablo both prime suspects.<\/p>\n

Finally, a kidnapping and police stand-off ensues with a murder\/suicide providing the film’s final moments.<\/p>\n

I am not a fan of the title that Almod\u00f3var chose. Preferably, a title that is a bit more titillating. Even Lust of Desire or Object of My Desire would have been better choices.<\/p>\n

Law of Desire screams of a tepid episode of television’s Law & Order.<\/p>\n

For a director with such an outlandish approach and such bizarre characters, the title is bland, banal, and tough to remember.<\/p>\n

Those seeking a kinky and provocative late-night affair will find Law of Desire (1987) a good old time. It lacks a clear message, instead offering a sexy romp and a dreary ending.<\/p>\n

Running the gamut of adding musical score pieces as unique as the 1970s The Conformist, a film also shrouded in same-sex desire, to cheesy 1980s synth-laden beats, adds some confusion.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, diversity and inclusiveness are good recipes to chow down on and celebrate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Law of Desire-1987 Director Pedro Almodovar Starring Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura Scott’s Review #1,021 Reviewed May 8, 2020 Grade: B+ Law of Desire or La ley del Deseo (as translated in original Spanish) is a 1987 film written and directed by Pedro Almod\u00f3var. Quite groundbreaking for its time and penned by a respected director, the … Continue reading Law of Desire-1987<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1506,11140,11138,49,192,11137,213,339,122,331,11139,1502,1503],"tags":[70,1507,11144,11142,252,193,11141,67,214,123,332,11143,1504,1505],"class_list":["post-11243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1987-films","category-antonio-banderas","category-bibiana-fernandez","category-carmen-maura","category-comedies","category-dramas","category-eusebio-poncela","category-foreign-dramas","category-lgbt-dramas","category-gay-films","category-lgbt-foreign-language-films","category-micky-molina","category-pedro-almodovar","category-spanish","tag-1987-movie-reviews","tag-antonio-banderas","tag-bibiana-fernandez","tag-carmen-maura","tag-comedies","tag-dramas-2","tag-eusebio-poncela","tag-foreign-language-films","tag-foreign-dramas","tag-gaylesbian-films","tag-lgbt-foreign-language-films","tag-micky-molina","tag-pedro-almodovar","tag-spanish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11243"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23165,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11243\/revisions\/23165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}