Bad Education

Pedro Almodovar’s latest is a typically overstuffed melodrama that follows Ignacio (Gael Garcia Bernal) as he tracks down an old school chum named Enrique (played by Fele Martinez). Ignacio was the victim of abuse at the hands of a shifty priest, an event that forms the basis of a pivotal short story he’s written called “The Visit.” Bad Education takes an awfully long time to get going, with Almodovar placing the emphasis on bizarre characters (including a stereotypically swishy transvestite, played by Talk to Her‘s Javier Camera). But once Ignacio’s storyline goes front and center, the film becomes just as enjoyable as you might expect (albeit in an expectedly odd, almost trashy way). And you’ve got to admire Almodovar’s labyrinth-like screenplay, which is consistently playing with the audience’s expectations through flashbacks and that old movie-within-a-movie trick. But in the end, it just feels like Almodovar is trying to do too much; the film would’ve undoubtedly been a lot more effective had he limited himself to just one or two of these storylines. Still, it’s never boring and Bernal continues to prove that he’s one of the more interesting young actors working today.

**1/2 out of ****