Film Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman

Welcome back to the blog readers. Musicals are normally considered an escape from the outside world and the struggles we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but not all of them have resonated with me in the same way. Some are good, some are superficial, and others are The Greatest Showman (2017), which a lot of people have been sleeping on recently. Hearing that this film was coming got me intrigued, especially because the last musical I saw was not good (and that was Emilia Pérez (2024)). Would this film be like that, or would it be The Greatest Showman? Stick around to find out.

Kiss of the Spider Woman was written and directed by Bill Condon, based on the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman by Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, itself based on the novel Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig. The film stars Diego Luna, Tonatiuh Elizarraraz, and Jennifer Lopez. In the film, two vastly different political prisoners that share the same cell create an unlikely bond when one of them decides to recount his favorite Hollywood film: a musical called Kiss of the Spider Woman.

I became interested in this film when I heard that it was getting some Academy Award attention, and I knew if there was any chance this film got nominated for Best Picture, I had to see it (since I want to make my Best Picture expedition a yearly thing). I was hopeful that this film would be good, and I am happy to report that I did think this film was pretty darn good. The performances of Diego Luna and Tonatiuh (which is what I will now refer to them as) were absolutely stellar, as was the cinematography and the music, but the themes are what really gave me a bit of pause from calling this film great.

I want to start by talking about the performance of Diego Luna. Luna is someone I have been a fan of since I saw him for the first time in my favorite film of 2016: Rogue One (2016), as Cassian Andor, a role he would reprise in Andor (2022-25). But I was curious to see how he would fare in a fully dramatic film that has absolutely nothing to do with Star Wars, and he completely nailed his role as Valentin Arregui/Armando. As Arregui, Luna perfectly plays the hardened resistance fighter that is not ready to tear down his walls due to the pressure he is under, and he brings so much vulnerability to the character. As Armando, Luna brings a machismo to the character that I personally have never seen from him before.

Next up, I need to talk about the performance of Tonatiuh. The up-and-coming actor has not had many major roles since starting out in an episode of Jane the Virgin (2014-19), but they did have a minor role in the Netflix film Carry-On (2024) that caught fire and was pretty good from what I heard. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see the rawness and the silent power that they bring to the role of Luis Molina/Kendall Nesbit. As Molina, they bring that rawness and silent power that commands every scene they are in, and it is fascinating to see them playing a role where they are conflicted. But as Nesbit, Tonatiuh brings some of those same qualities, but the flamboyance in both is very hard to miss.

I next want to talk about the cinematography of this film. Again, cinematography is not my bag (to steal a quote from my new best friend Langston Fleury), but when I see good cinematography, I will be quick to notice it. Our man behind the camera for this film is Tobias A. Schliessler, and some of the tricks and feats he is able to pull off for this film were totally incredible. Plus, he was basically filming two films with the in-film Kiss of the Spider Woman retelling, but the film in the film was shot like a 60s film, and I love the throwback to that era. But for the actual events in the Argentine prison, the choice of shots and how some of these shots are taken really reflect a chaotic time in the world. I know he probably will not get one, but I would like to personally see Schliessler get nominated for Best Cinematography.

And finally for the positives of this film, I want to talk about the music. I did mention all the way back in my introductory paragraph that I am not the biggest fan of the musical genre, and that is something I fully believe wholeheartedly. There are exceptions to that (and no, Sinners (2025) is not a musical), but they really feel gimmicky. Did every song in this film warrant a slam dunk reaction from me? Not at all, but there were some songs on this soundtrack that I genuinely liked. Some of them include "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "An Everyday Man," and "She's a Woman." The music does not always advance the plot, and the film does better as a musical, but the songs were given the love and attention they deserved, and I can always respect and appreciate that.

But I want to end this review on a bit of a sour note, and that has to do with the story and the themes of this film, or lack thereof. Most of the time when I see a film, I can ascertain the story and the themes that the film is trying to convey, and the message usually jumps out at me somewhere in the film's duration. But I feel a bit slighted because I do not feel as if I get that at all in this film. In other words, I really do not feel as if this film told me anything new, exciting, relevant, or groundbreaking. I mean, the time period the film is set in does draw parallels to what is happening in our real world, but other than that the film feels like an empty and hollow shell that eventually really has nothing of value to say.

In conclusion, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a hollow film with nothing new to say but bolsters great performances, cinematography, and music. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.