Strange Way of Life reviews praise Pedro Pascal's "fleeting but florid Western"
Critics were full of praise for Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke’s performances, although some described the film as "under-developed".
Strange Way of Life has been stealing all the limelight at Cannes Film Festival, with critics rushing to praise Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal in the first review of the short film.
The neo-western film, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, is a 30-minute Western short film that follows a tender but conflicted gay romance between Pascal’s character Silva and his friend Sheriff Jake (Hawke) after a two-decade reunion.
Alongside Hawke and Pascal, the movie stars José Condessa, Jason Fernández, Sara Sálamo, Erenice Lohan, Pedro Casablanc, George Steane, and Manu Ríos.
With a theatrical release set to follow later in 2023, check out what critics have said about the movie, which marks the Spanish director's second English-language film following The Human Voice in 2020.
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Strange Way of Life review round-up
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter was impressed, describing the film in his review as an “intoxicating Queer Western” and “a movie of ripe sensuality”. He said in closing: “Queer audiences especially — but not exclusively — should celebrate this precious gift from one of the undisputed greats.”
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Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a score of four stars, praising “tense and poignant scenes between the two men”.
However, he noted “there is some very robust and old-fashioned storytelling here and Strange Way of Life feels quite old-fashioned in its way”.
For Variety, Peter Debruge criticised the film as “an under-developed addition to the Spanish director’s oeuvre”.
"The super-saturated Strange Way of Life looks terrific, but doesn’t quite work dramatically," he added, before saying in closing: “This short reduces its queer cowboys to a couple of clothes horses”
Meanwhile, David Ehrlich of Indiewire described the film as “a fleeting but florid Western”, adding that the ending feels “unexpectedly abrupt” and “leaves you wanting more”.
Strange Way of Life is coming to UK cinemas later in 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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