A fairytale-like fable about the happily ever after gone terribly wrong, "Woman on Top" is itself a crowd-pleaser gone somewhat disappointing.
Woman on Top - R
Starring:
Penélope Cruz
Directed by:
Pina Torres
Now playing:
Showplace 12 West
|
Penélope Cruz plays Isabella, a chef who falls for her restaurant-owner husband at first sight, then catches him cheating. She decides to pack her bags, leaves Brazil and arrives in San Francisco several barf bags later (part of the ongoing gag about her motion sickness). She finds fame as a TV cooking show host, and her loser husband soon arrives in San Francisco to stalk and harass her.
For the first half of the film, "Woman on Top" has a feminist agenda that rewards a woman's quest for independence with both success and men's admiration. Then the film slaps itself in the face with the second half by contradicting the feminist message.
Despite her newfound success and legions of admirers, Isabella feels incomplete without a man in her life. Worst of all, she follows her heart rather than common sense to fulfill her need for a man. Hasn't Isabella learned anything from her marriage with the loser husband? The happy ending of "Woman on Top" is one that will frustrate many moviegoers.
While the screenplay is flawed, the film does have its moments. Cruz, who appeared in Oscar-winning Spanish films such as "Belle époque" and "All About My Mother" and will soon be starring in films alongside Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Matt Damon, gives a star-making turn here. Her performance as Isabella is both strong and vulnerable. The camera adores her, yet she doesn't exploit it the way an amateur like Gwyneth Paltrow does. Harold Perrineau Jr., best known as the wheelchair-bound inmate on HBO's "Oz," also gives a winning performance as Isabella's flamboyant sidekick.
French cinematographer Thierry Arbogast, known for his camera work on "La Femme Nikita," gives the film an exquisite, stunning texture. Director Fina Torres, best known for the little-seen 1996 film "Celestial Clockwork," has a gift for making whimsical fables.
Although "Woman on Top" is a lot less successful than "Celestial" due to its indecisive plot, Torres still works wonders to create a breezy fairy tale of a film.
