Following on from his gorgeous The Human Voice (2020), a one-hander starring Tilda Swinton, Pedro Almodóvar continues his foray into short filmmaking. This time round, he brings us Strange Way of Life, essentially a two-hander. Silva (Pedro Pascal) and Jake (Ethan Hawke), now sheriff of a town called Bitter Creek, are ex-lovers who have been estranged for 25 years. They have forged new lives for themselves, lives which include wives, lovers and children. Their separate paths converge when Silva’s son Joe is accused of killing Jake’s sister-in-law, who was both Joe’s lover and Jake’s ex paramour.
Silva rides into town, resplendent in an apple green jacket (courtesy of Anthony Vaccarello for Yves Saint Laurent, which is also an associate producer of the film). Jake is equally dapper in his designer garb; Bitter Creek might be a one-horse town, but it is there are more handsome fellas here than you can swing a lariat at. There’s one serenading us as the film opens and another in the sheriff’s office. Joe, the renegade son, has certainly inherited his dad’s good looks and even the Mexican prostitutes are gorgeous.
