Amid the recent surge of big screen musicals, Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) returns to the director’s chair with a new adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel was first adapted as a play in 1983, then a film in 1985 starring Raul Julia and William Hurt, and a Fred Ebb and Terrence McNally Broadway musical followed in 1993 with Chita Rivera. Following in the footsteps of an Oscar-winning film and a Tony-winning show, Condon’s version is a visually dazzling spectacle, though the musical numbers can’t always keep up.
In the waning days of Argentina’s Dirty War, Valentín Arregui (Diego Luna), a prisoner in the most derelict section of a political prison, passes the time between interrogations reading books and clinging to his sanity and fading health. His isolation is disrupted by new cellmate Luis Molina (Tonatiuh), a gay man convicted of public indecency and promised a pardon by the warden (Bruno Bichir) if he can get Arregui to share details that can help the junta stamp out the leftist revolution.
Condon understands the heart of the story is in these two people and the relationship that develops between them. Arregui prefers to keep to himself, establishing rules against talking while he’s reading, or writing, or thinking. Molina is happy to break every rule and with it, Arregui’s closely guarded feelings and secrets. One of Condon’s obvious adaptive choices is to eliminate the jailhouse tunes, separating the fantastical musical moments from the prisoners’ dark reality. This choice makes sense narratively, also making Arregui’s eventual softening feel like the progression that it is.
Molina practically dances into his new cell, unbothered by the grim, decaying walls. Where Arregui prefers quiet contemplation, Molina is all chatter and busyness, acquainting himself with his new roommate as he hangs a beaded curtain around his bunk, unloads groceries into a makeshift kitchenette, and adorns the wall with posters of his favorite screen star, Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez). He only stops occasionally to pose like a model at the end of a runway.
Though Valentín is a rebel with secrets and the story is set deliberately near the end of a years-long revolution, the war raging outside the prison walls serves as a background to the real story unfolding inside, one of survival and hope. Arregui finds hope in the memory of the woman he left behind and the movement he fights for. Molina finds hope in the movies. Specifically in Ingrid Luna’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, a film he first saw as a child. Molina eventually breaks down Arregui’s walls by recreating the film like a series of bedtime stories.
As Molina inserts his own ideas and imagination into his storytelling, casting himself and Arregui in leading roles alongside his beloved Ingrid Luna. For Tonatiuh and Luna, it is the chance to play both abused inmates and suave Old Hollywood stars, shifting back and forth from a dank prison cell to glamorous nightclubs and penthouses. Both actors are equally captivating in their “real” life as they are in the made-up studio musical with its technicolor sets and dreamy 60s costumes. The tension in early scenes, where Molina beautifies their space and Arregui pretends to be annoyed about it, does not feel as tense as it should. We already know these two will become friends and Condon wisely speeds up the process.
In the movie-within-the-movie, we finally meet Ingrid Luna — “La Luna” to her admirers — but not as the actress and star. We meet her as the character Aurora, a successful editor at the biggest fashion magazine. Her assistant Kendall (played in his version by Molina), is her faithful right hand and their codependent relationship works well until she meets and falls for the dashing Armando (whom Molina envisions as Arregui). There are gangsters and nightclubs, another woman, and the revelation of a curse placed on Aurora’s town by the Spider Woman. Each year, a woman must sacrifice the man she loves to the Spider Woman. Also playing a double role is Lopez as the Spider Woman, glamorous in a different way from Aurora, more alluring, more dangerous.
While Molina adds his own flavor to the narrative, the musical numbers themselves don’t come together as boldly as they should. This should feel like a big, loud musical in the tradition of Minelli or Fosse, and on a technical level, it succeeds. Tobias A. Schliessler’s cinematography captures Christopher Scott’s choreography, creating dance sequences that leap from stage to screen. Colleen Atwood’s exquisite costumes — an eye-catching sea of scarlets, emerald, and aqua — pair perfectly with elegant production design from Scott Chambliss to accentuate the contrast between the two disparate worlds of our characters. Despite this, the music itself often diminishes great craftsmanship. Some of the bigger moments fall flat, leaving songs that can’t deliver the pizzazz we would hope to see. With forgettable lyrics and lackluster melodies, it would almost feel like a mistake to have made this a musical at all.
There are a couple of exceptions, though. As fun as it is to watch Lopez as the successful blonde magazine executive, she truly shines as the Spider Woman, where, as the fictional movie nears its end, she sings the title song, “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” with her whole soul, adding a layer of yearning and sadness to the sensual femme fatale. Lopez’s career as an actress has been rocky, and her skills have sometimes been underestimated. This is one of her best performances and she is every bit the superstar every time she is on screen. It’s easy to see why Molina would be so taken with her alter egos.
But stealing the show is Tonatiuh, who was born to be a star. Stepping into the role for which William Hurt won an Academy Award, Tonatiuh lights up the screen. One of the film’s most beautiful sequences comes when he sings, “She’s a Woman,” a heartfelt and perfect rendition. Molina is funny and endearing without being ridiculous. He is self-deprecating and playful, refusing to be brought down by the depressing scene around him. Arregui, frustrated with how easily Molina dismisses himself, asks, “Why do you make yourself trivial?” Molina responds, “Because I am trivial. But I know it.” He understands that he will never be allowed to amount to much and he embraces what life he can.
Molina’s character is deepened in a way we haven’t seen in previous iterations of the story. Though described as a gay man, Molina explicitly describes feeling like a woman and not a man at all. This leads to a somewhat frank discussion about the spectrum of gender and makes it more clear that Molina is, in fact, a trans woman, perhaps not in 1980s terminology, but certainly in today’s. Yet, considering every discussion and summary of this film still refers to Molina as a gay man, perhaps it is not quite clear enough.
Our third lead, Diego Luna, is as outstanding as his co-stars. Together they elevate a story that sometimes lags, and sometimes tries to jump ahead too quickly. It’s impossible to know how much time passes for Molina and Arregui. It could be a week or six months. And considering their circumstances, it would make sense that someone in prison would lose track of time. Except that there is a revolution going on and the warden increases the pressure on Molina, indicating that time does matter and it is running out. For a film that is over two hours, some scenes in the beginning and middle drag a bit, while the last 20 minutes feel rushed until it suddenly ends. Perhaps if the music had been better overall, it would be easier to overlook how quickly the conclusion comes.
Kiss of the Spider Woman is beautifully assembled and well acted. It is entertaining enough and worth watching, but unlikely to enter the pantheon of big Hollywood musicals.
Grade: B
This review is from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival where Kiss of the Spider Woman has its world premiere. The film is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
Casting Society (CSA) honored excellence in casting across feature film, television (scripted and unscripted), commercials… Read More
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes took home the top award from the 23rd… Read More
“Brady is an exceptional talent and definitely someone to watch, no question.” Right at the… Read More
In terms of its status amongst critics and film lovers, Paddington has got to be… Read More
It’s an accepted fact that at this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s lifecycle, keeping… Read More
After dominating the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts domestic awards with a sweep… Read More
This website uses cookies.