1983, Argentina. Towards the end of the Dirty War, political prisoner Valentín (Diego Luna) toils in his prison cell. His new cellmate, the defiantly queer Molina (Tonatiuh), turns his life upside down, as fantasy begins to blur with reality.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman began life as a 1976 novel by Manuel Puig. There was then a 1985 film adaptation, before that, itself, was adapted into a 1992 stage musical. Now, finally, we get the film version of that musical. We first meet political dissident Valentín (Diego Luna) in his prison cell. Life looks bleak, only getting worse when his polar opposite, Molina (Tonatiuh), joins him in his prison cell. But Valentín soon softens to his unlikely new friend when Molina narrates the story of his favourite film, ‘The Kiss Of The Spider Woman’, delivering the pair much-needed escapism.
Bill Condon’s film alternates between the cold, dark reality of 1980s Argentina and the fantasy of the film-within-a-film, shown in lush, romantic musical sequences starring Molina’s favourite actor, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). The two prisoners become unlikely friends — but Valentín is unaware that Molina has been ordered to spy on him in exchange for an early release.
Jennifer Lopez is dynamite.
The musical sequences certainly dazzle. Condon, who wrote Chicago and directed Dreamgirls, has plenty of experience in the genre, on full display here. His contemporaries could really learn something from the way Condon frames a musical: his immaculate staging and thoughtful choreography take precedence over camera movement, recalling classics like Oklahoma!. Here, the camera serves to enhance rather than pull focus from the dancing. Combined with a resplendent visual palette that mimics old-school Technicolor, you’ve got moments that cinema screens are made for. If only the actual songs were more memorable.
In its fantasy, Kiss Of The Spider Woman feels miraculous. Lopez, who plays multiple roles, including the titular Spider Woman, is having the time of her life. She’s dynamite. In comparison, the prison-drama part of the film feels stagey and underdeveloped. As the films and Molina dive further into the imagined world, the real-world plot, dealing with the ramifications of a brutal dictatorship, starts to feel like an afterthought. Tonatiuh and Luna have solid chemistry, but the film’s tonal inconsistencies and awkward pacing — the third act manages to feel both hurried and dragged out — prevent this central relationship from taking flight.
Though it is often a victim of its own ambition, there’s a lot to admire in Kiss Of The Spider Woman. Tonatiuh delivers a layered, thoughtful performance, blending an exuberant flamboyance with striking fragility. Yet this is a story that’s been told so many times before; evidently, a little of the magic got lost along the way.
A daring reimagining of an oft-told story, Kiss Of The Spider Woman features some sensational musical moments that nicely hark back to classic Hollywood, but struggles to reconcile two very different worlds.