‘Strange Way Of Life’ Review: Pedro Almodóvar’s Short Is Homage To Classic Westerns, But With A Gay Twist Courtesy Of Ethan Hawke And Pedro Pascal

The great Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar is a rabid fan of the Western genre but until now he had never made one. He had also only dabbled in directing an English-language film with the exception of the 2020 short The Human Voice, which starred Tilda Swinton.

His latest movie is also a short, just 31 minutes, but he finally got to do his Western in English. It’s a nice homage to the form and those great directors who created it, but it is safe to say this homage could only have come from this master of cinema.

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Almodóvar brought the finished product to its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and, if flattered by the attention, the ghosts of John Ford, Howard Hawks, John Sturges, Anthony Mann, Raoul Walsh and Sam Peckinpah may be surprised at the twist that this 73-year-old fanboy has given Strange Way of Life. That is because though the work of those directors is liberally addressed and tributed in different ways, the plot here is something you would never find in any of their classics.

Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal play onetime lovers who are reunited for a night of passion and sex after not having seen each other in 25 years. Hawke plays Sheriff Jake, who was once a hired gunfighter along with Mexican-born Silva (Pascal), who has tracked him down. At one time they wanted to just fade into the sunset together on the same ranch, but that dream never materialized and they went their separate ways. After all this time, while on a specific mission, he stops by for a visit with his old friend, both now in their 50s, for an evening that turns from dinner and catching up to lovemaking. When morning comes Jake’s demeanor has noticeably changed and suddenly he is back to business, that being a search to bring in someone thought to be Silva’s son, Joe (George Steane), wanted for murder. Although Silva tries, Jake cannot be talked out of tracking him down. The conflict grows tense when Joe turns up at dad’s place.

Almodóvar once toyed with the idea of making his English-language feature debut with an adaptation of Brokeback Mountain, but couldn’t come to terms with the vision he felt was needed for that movie, one that he does not consider to be a Western since the two gay male lovers were actually shepherds, not cowboys. That is why he feels, probably rightly, this short, though clearly baked with a love for the proud past of Westerns (particularly the Hollywood kind), is revolutionary in its own quiet way.

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Although tasteful, the sex really isn’t seen except in a brief but steamy flashback to when both were much younger (played by Jose Condessa and Jason Fernandez), but the aftermath certainly is. And that is what is important to Almodóvar in telling this story, which is largely dialogue-driven, showing why they grew apart but also clearly why they were made for each other. Hawke, steely and cool, and Pascal, open and warm, are actually polar opposites, but that is what makes it work as well as it does. Both actors, in just a half hour, bring authenticity and a believable lived-in feel to their characters and this relationship. Almodóvar doesn’t need to spend a lot of time with exposition. It is in their body language. This is their show, despite brief appearances by a supporting cast that also includes a singer (Manu Rios) who sets the tone (he is dubbed by Caetano Veloso’s haunting voice), and a trio of prostitutes right out of Hawks’ El Dorado, just one of the many Westerns that inspired bits and pieces of Strange Way of Life. Hey, this is an Almodóvar film folks — you have to work women in somewhere, right?

Hawke and Pascal are so good you easily could see both of them could have been hired for a slew of Westerns in the ’50s and ’60s. How about a remake of 1962’s Ride the High Country, the Peckinpah early western with aging cowboys Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott? For some reason I kept thinking of that while watching this.

Shout-out to the lilting musical score of Almodóvar regular Alberto Iglesias who, though this was all shot in Almeira, Spain (Sergio Leone country), smartly does not try to imitate Ennio Morricone. The music helps set the nostalgic and emotional tone of the film, as does the production design and costumes (there is a direct homage to James Stewart in Mann’s Bend of the River to look out for).

Almodóvar isn’t setting out to rewrite the rules of Westerns with this film, but he is adding a new chapter that somehow feels just right, due in no small part to his two leads. Augustin Almodóvar produced.

Title: Strange Way of Life
Festival: Cannes (Special Screenings)
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Director-screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal
Running Time: 31 minutes

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