Kiss of the Spider Woman
One of the top-rated films of 1985 was Hector Babenco’s adaptation of Manuel Puig’s novel, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” In an Oscar-winning performance, William Hurt starred as a gay Brazilian man sent to prison for “corrupting an underage youth.” His cellmate was a leftist revolutionary played by the late Raul Julia. The setting was during the notoriously harsh military dictatorship which ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985.
Original film
The two leads couldn’t have been more mismatched. Hurt’s character, Molina, could have cared less about political strife, and Julia’s character, Valentin, simply didn’t want to listen to Molina’s constant yakking about movie musicals. Yes, this set-up lent itself well to a few moments of genuine humor, but “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was essentially a dark, dreary film, set against the backdrop of a horrible chapter in world history.
Broadway musical
In 1993, author Terrence McNally, along with John Kander and Fred Ebb, the songwriting team behind “Cabaret” and “Chicago” produced a Broadway musical version of the same story. How was that even possible, given the dark nature of the source material? Good question, although “Cabaret” was not exactly a cheery walk in the park either.
During Molina’s and Valentin’s long discussions, Molina takes his time to describe, in great detail, his favorite motion picture musical, “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” starring his favorite old-time leading lady, Ingrid Luna, as Aurora. In Babenco’s film, this character was played by Brazilian actress Sonia Braga. Hers was not a major character but appeared in scenes in which the Molina character envisioned himself as her leading man. In the musical, her role was expanded; song and dance numbers were added to flesh out Molina’s narration. And the result was that the fiery mambo and samba music softened the blow of the bleak predicament of Valentin and Molina.
New film version
Now, that musical version has been adapted to the big screen by none other than Bill Condon, the same director responsible for the film versions of “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls.” Condon would be the ideal filmmaker to handle such a re-working, and in many ways, he succeeds, although “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is more a mixed bag than either “Chicago” or “Dreamgirls.”
Breakout performance
Let’s start with the good. First, television actor Tonatuih Elizarrarez – who goes by his first name only – steals the show as the Molina character. If ever there were a breakout performance, it is his. Initially annoying and chatty, Tonatuih softens the character as the film progresses to the point where we authentically care what happens to him upon his release late in the proceedings. Where Hurt and Julia played off one another as equals, this version is truly Tonatuih’s show. And that’s to take nothing away from Diego Luna, who is excellent as the serious, brooding Valentin. It’s just that Tonatuih is so magnificent in his role as to overshadow Luna.
And unlike the very blond William Hurt, Tonatuih is of Latin American descent, and is actually gay. Hurt turned in winning performance after winning performance in the 1980’s. And while he won a Best Actor Oscar for this one, I never considered it one of his stronger accomplishments. Tonatuih is better than Hurt. (And there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.)
Jennifer Lopez
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez stars as the Luna/Aurora character – a role which almost seems a perfect fit for her talents. It’s been a while since Lopez has starred in a major motion picture, and many of us have missed her. And much as with Ariana Grande in last year’s “Wicked,” I didn’t realize Lopez had the pipes to pull off a performance like this. If one were to listen to the soundtrack to this film, Lopez’ powerful voice is marvelous. My issue is that her acting seems stilted and unnatural. She’s received many accolades for her performance, but I found myself wanting to see more of a personal connection between Lopez’ character and the viewing audience. She’s not terrible, like Selena Gomez in “Emilia Perez,” but I found her to be the weak link of the three primary actors.
Part of this may be Condon’s fault. For all his experience in bringing Broadway musicals to the big screen, he falls into the same trap he did with “Chicago.” He has a tendency to film the singers and dancers from the waist up. That works great for dialogue scenes, but when people are dancing, we need to see the footwork! In all the musical numbers of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” there is not one filmed as well as the sailors’ song in the Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” And that was supposed to be a spoof!
Leave out the music
In fact, the musical numbers in this film eventually turn our attention away from the far more interesting story – that of the interplay between Valentin and Molina. Condon would have been better off to simply forget the musical – I’m sure it works fine on the live stage – and simply remake Babenco’s 1985 film. That’s the fascinating drama here, and the musical numbers (which all look very similar) become nothing more than an excuse to use the restroom. That’s too bad, particularly given the strong performance by Tonatuih.
The 1985 “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was not my favorite film of the year, but it held my interest more than this version because it was not a musical. It was an interesting tete-a-tete between two very different and extremely fascinating characters. For all that is right with this “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” I have to consider this one a hit and a near miss.
Andy Ray’s reviews also appear on https://townepost.com/tag/film-reviews/