Audience and Critical Response

Abstract

This chapter looks at the audience and critical response to Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The film can be thought to appeal to fans of Almodóvar and in this sense, whilst Hollywood often uses star marketing, the distributors of Almodóvar's films often position him as the star. Indeed, the campaign focused around Almodóvar as a cult figure. In his early career, Almodóvar had 'consciously cultivated the image of a celebrity auteur'. Moreover, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, Talk to Her is most likely to appeal to people with liberal attitudes and, in particular, liberal attitudes towards gender and sexuality in its continual rejection and renegotiation of traditional gender roles. Overall, the film received resoundingly positive critical acclaim. Even those who found Almodóvar's message troubling tended to be impressed by his technical expertise.