Kiss of the Spider Woman is the new adaptation of the 1992/93 musical based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, which had in 1986 been turned into an Oscar winning film from Hector Babenco. This version of the story was written and directed by Bill Condon, retaining only selections from the Terrance McNally/Kander and Ebb original. Here, the focus is on the difference between the gritty reality of prison and the fantasy escape of two lonely men.
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Set in 1983 Argentina, the film concerns Valentin, a revolutionary played by Diego Luna, who is given a new cellmate, Luis, played by Tonatiuh. Luis has a mission, and Valentin has a lot of baggage, almost as much as Luis, who is a flamboyant window dresser in prison for homosexual activity. His great love is the actress, Ingrid Luna, and his obsession is her film, Kiss of the Spider Woman, which he begins recounting to Valentin. These recounting are where most of the music in the film occurs. Jennifer Lopez is more than capable in her roles here, bringing an energy, charm and commitment that the rest of the film-though not her co-stars-seem to lack. Both Tonatiuh, who shows vulnerability that is truly rare onscreen, and Luna, who creates a different kind of revolutionary, are fascinating to watch, despite the shortcomings this script provides this version of these characters.
Indeed, this is a film where the three main stars do everything to rise above the material, but by cutting out the songs from the prison sequences, the characters and themes are weakened. This creates a weak point/counterpoint, something the original version and stage musicals did not lack. Of course, this is not one of Kaner and Ebb’s best scores. There is not a single tune most people will remember after it is complete. What you may remember, however, are the visuals.
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The film within the film is a musical from the 1950s, and it fully recreates the aesthetic of such works. This is a strong contender for costume awards, and perhaps for production design or makeup. There are moments where it feels like an MGM musical of the golden era of that studio. Indeed, the film evokes quite a bit of the Donen/Kelly pairings, when it comes to those visuals.
The choreography, however, is something a little newer. It is something akin to Fosse, but not as sexy or as dangerous. The numbers happen, and they are well done, but the dancing, however technically proficient, is not truly spectacular, even when it needs to be. This is not to say it is bad, but rather that it merely rises only to good enough. Given the film’s very serious content and relevance to modern life, this is disappointing.
The film is essentially about connections and escape, about trust and deceit, loneliness and belonging. The military junta that has thrown our protagonists into prison is shown to be vicious, cruel and desperate. It is here that the decision to not include. other than one or two brief exceptions-any musical material from the prison portion of the film, hurts it. As Luis says early in the film, you get everything through song. Here, because of the lack of song, we do not get enough marriage of themes.
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The ways in which the two sides of the story, the fantasy and reality, comment on one another, works on a surface level, but could have gone deeper. This is not Gods and Monsters or Chicago, two other films Condon has worked on which provide exceptional balance between elements and thematic cohesion. This is a musical afraid to be a musical, and it is weaker for it, because while it is not a great musical, it is a powerful story that, when told with music, needs to fully commit. What we have is a work with great visuals, excellent performances, and good characters, which are undermined by lackluster conclusions and half baked connections.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is now playing in theaters.
Adam, we can’t always agree. As it is, we agree about 90% of the time. This instance is relatively rare. I must say that I loved the Kander and Ebb score—the same score with a few revisions either way that won a Best Score Tony Award, but like you, I didn’t find a single tune “hummable” afterward. Still, this wasn’t that kind of score at all but rather one where music transcribes emotions and dreams like operatic commentary. I can’t hum anything, but the song numbers wholly exhilarated me. The Kander & Ebb magic wasn’t what we heard in “Chicago,” but their focus here was different. We agree on the performances—Tonatiuh deserves an Oscar nomination—and Condon’s mastery of the visuals was exemplary.
As always, your writing here is first-rate.
Condon? Say no more. I’m out.
Tonatiuh was magnificent in the film. Diego Luna not far behind. Unfortunately JLo looked like she was channeling Joan Crawford. She was way too old for the role
3 of 4 stars