Movie · 2002 · Drama, Romance · 1h 52m · R · Spanish
Curator score: 8.2/10 (220.9K ratings)
Overview
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.87/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 86
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Pedro Almodóvar
Production
El Deseo
Cast
Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores, Mariola Fuentes, Geraldine Chaplin, Pina Bausch, Malou Airaudo, Caetano Veloso, Roberto Álvarez, Elena Anaya, Lola Dueñas, Adolfo Fernández, Ana Fernández, Chus Lampreave, Helio Pedregal, Paz Vega, Fele Martínez, Carmen Machi, Agustín Almodóvar
Curator Review
Verdict
A beautifully made, emotionally provocative melodrama that rewards viewers who like morally thorny cinema and are willing to sit with discomfort. It’s formally elegant, deeply human in its loneliness, and also genuinely divisive because of how it frames consent, desire, and male sympathy.
Best for
Viewers who like challenging art-house dramas
Fans of emotionally intense relationship stories
People interested in Almodóvar’s colorful, melodramatic style
Viewers comfortable with morally ambiguous characters and debate-provoking endings
Skip if
You want a straightforward romance
You’re sensitive to sexual violence or coercive dynamics in fiction
You prefer films that clearly condemn every character’s behavior
You dislike movies that are intentionally unsettling and open to interpretation
Overview
Talk to Her is one of those films that can feel exquisitely compassionate in one moment and deeply troubling in the next. Almodóvar builds it with extraordinary control: the color, music, pacing, and nested stories all create a world of longing, grief, and private obsession. The result is a film that lingers because it refuses to flatten its characters into simple victims or villains.
Worth noting
What makes it so divisive is also what makes it so discussable. The film’s emotional intelligence is undeniable, but its handling of male desire, female vulnerability, and consent is deliberately or accidentally destabilizing depending on your read. That tension is central to the experience, and it’s why the movie inspires such polarized reactions.
Bottom line
If you’re open to cinema that is formally lush, psychologically layered, and ethically uncomfortable, this is essential viewing. If you want your dramas to stay on the safe side of empathy, this will likely feel like a provocation rather than a catharsis.
Top Letterboxd reviews
clownhead (0.5★) · 1756 likes
i hated this. i try not to hate movies but honestly i truly, truly hated this one. i can't even properly analyse it yet because i'm too angry and revolted but i will say this: musings on love and human nature and loneliness are not only wrong but outright dangerous when they're bred with misogyny so subtle and vile it goes mostly undetected. it deeply disappoints and frankly terrifies me that so many people think this is a masterpiece.
update:… more
anjy (1.5★) · 1423 likes
AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL SORRY FOR HIM???!!!
Stephanie (1.5★) · 845 likes
I can't believe they tried to make me feel bad for a horrible rapist. I hate men.
cait (3★) · 708 likes
talk to her stumped me. it’s the first time i’ve been completely unsure of what to rate something, alternating between one and four stars, searching for some semblance of myself in the divided reviews. i sat there for a few hours after the film finished, dissecting every aspect of it, asking myself how did i feel in this moment? what is the audience supposed to feel? what is almodóvar’s aim here? is his voice critical or supportive? and even if… more talk to her stumped me. it’s the first time i’ve been completely unsure of what to rate something, alternating between one and four stars, searching for some semblance of myself in the divided reviews. i sat there for a few hours after the film finished, dissecting every aspect of it, asking myself how did i feel in this moment? what is the audience supposed to feel? what is almodóvar’s aim here? is his voice critical or supportive? and even if… more
Joaquín Salles (5★) · 631 likes
Excellent, but Almodovar doesn't know how to design a vagina.