KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN

DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Rating: 5 out of 5

Kiss of the Spider Woman is a dazzling musical showstopper that only Bill Condon could conjure up with sensational choreography and amazing production design that pays tribute to the musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood led by two phenomenal performances from Tonatiuh and Jennifer Lopez.

With his track record in the musical genre, Bill Condon is a great directorial pick for any movie musical. From adapting Chicago in Rob Marshall’s Best Picture winning film, directing Jennifer Hudson to an Academy Award in her screen debut in Dreamgirls, and directing the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast for Disney which became a box office juggernaut, it is safe to say that Condon know exactly what makes for a great musical. For his next musical, which he has been wanting to make for sometime now, Condon turns his attention to Kiss of the Spider Woman, which is based on the novel by Manuel Puig that has previously been adapted into an Oscar winning film in 1985 and a 7 time Tony Award winning Broadway musical in 1993. Condon uses the Broadway musical adaptation as the basis for his film, that armed with a team of some of the most talented artists in the business and the spotlight on the multi-talented Jennifer Lopez in her first movie musical ever, creates a show-stopping musical extravaganza that not only reminds viewers of the power of storytelling and song, but the power of love and its ability to bridge the gap between differences which is more important than ever in today’s world.

Themes of political repression and revolution, gender and identity, and love are at the heart of Kiss of the Spider Woman, and despite being based on a novel originally written in the 1970s, it's even more resonant and powerful in today’s society. As Luis recounts the events of his favourite film to Valentín to gain his trust so he can elicit information from him to pass to the prison warden to free himself and help the government stop the revolution, the bond between Luis and Valentín blossoms on screen. It leads to a beautiful connection that is echoed in the lead characters of Aurora and Armand in the story that Luis is telling, allowing the story’s central theme of love bridging differences between individuals to be front and centre in the final act. With Luis’s gender identification as a femme queer being prevalent, it's also a reminder to audiences that everyone’s sexual identity is unique to them is to be celebrated, which is championed through the film’s emphasis on the importance of storytelling to carry people through the hardest times in their lives. The Spider Woman herself, while sparingly used in the film, becomes a powerful symbol that permeates both storylines, playing a pivotal role in Luis’s character arc as both the villain of his favourite film, while also an ominous, looming spectre of his own fate. All of these plot elements and themes are beautifully woven together in Condon’s screenplay while shifting between the grim prison and heightened dreamlike movie world where the musical numbers occur, with both plot lines perfectly complementing each other to champion the film’s themes and deliver a powerful emotional blow. It all builds towards the film’s unforgettable final musical number, making Kiss of the Spider Woman a film that will stay with viewers long after the credits have concluded as it stirs something emotionally within them.

Musicals are known for the razzle dazzle, and Condon delivers plenty of it in the musical numbers in Kiss of the Spider Woman. With the musical numbers largely set in the dream movie world of Luis’s favourite movie, Condon and his team are not restricted and given the creative freedom to unleash a true spectacle. From the technicolour canvas and the set design that evokes classic musicals like Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris, the production design gives a timeless and magical quality to the film that allows the musical numbers to pop off screen in a heightened sense. Brian A. Kates perfectly transitions the film from the gloomy prison of Argentina to the movie world with the rhythm in his editing, ensuring that the film balances its two very different tones and helps to highlight the parallels in the two stories at play and allow them to coexist in the same space. Sergio Trujillo and Christopher Scott’s choreography helps deliver energetic musical numbers featuring Lopez, Tonatiuh and hundreds of background dancers to create that show-stopping feel that one can only find on Broadway that heightens the cinematic experience. It’s never more evident than during “Where You Are” which is the pinnacle of the entire film as Condon calls back to Chicago’s “Cell Block Tango” with the staging of the number, and Tonatiuh’s big number “Only in the Movies” which gives him his Oscar moment akin to Jennifer Hudson with “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” in Dreamgirls. Amplifying these scenes is the spectacular costume design from Colleen Atwood and the hair and makeup design, transforming the cast into 1950s Hollywood stars and Lopez into the deadly titular Spider Woman. And it’s all captured by Tobias A. Schliessler‘s striking cinematography that captures not only the contrast between the two worlds of the film, but uses lighting to replicate the live experience of Broadway and lots of long shots to showcase the musical numbers being done in one long take. Needless to say, the technicals of the film alone make Kiss of the Spider Woman a must see for any musical lover!

As much as Condon and his team conjure up a spectacle, the movie would be nothing without the performances of Lopez, Tonatiuh and Diego Luna in the film’s starring roles. As Valentín Arregui, Luna captures the determined resolve of the revolutionary locked in prison who has become the target of the Argentinian government, who will cross any line to elicit information from him to help quash the revolution. It’s a more stoic performance in the first two acts, but once Valentín begins to truly trust Luis, Luna captures a beautiful chemistry with Tonatiuh as Valentín lowers his walls and helps to not only amplify the film’s theme about the power of love, but magnify the beauty and heartbreak of the film’s final musical number. Tonatiuh becomes a star in front of your eyes as Luis, the gay window dresser tasked with extracting information from Valentín, giving a truly lived performance as he spiritually connects Luis with his own life as a femme queer Latino man. Capturing the beauty of this man who knows exactly who he is and is never for a second afraid to hide his  true self, Tonatiuh radiates every second he is on screen with his passion as he slowly breaks down Valentín’s walls and creates a deep and loving connection with him. In the musical numbers, Tonatiuh is excellent, especially during “Only in the Movies” where he bares his heart and soul in a raw and vulnerable sequence that should catapult him right into the Best Actor awards race next year.

But, there is one unforgettable performance that towers over the entire film, and that is from Lopez in the dual role of Aurora and the Spider Woman. For years Lopez has starred in music centric films such as Selena and Marry Me that allowed her to utilize her talents as a music superstar, but Kiss of the Spider Woman gives Lopez the role she was born to play. As Aurora, Lopez captures the glitz and glamour with complete showmanship to bring to life Luis’s beloved movie character, while harnessing a mystery and sense of danger as the Spider Woman that makes her alluring and threatening whenever she is on screen. In each musical number, Lopez amazes with the charisma, dancing and emotion she infuses each song with, whether it be a show-stopping dance number like “Where You Are” or the titular ballad “Kiss of the Spider Woman” which comes at one of the film’s emotional heights. It was evident from the massive applause that erupted after these two musical numbers at the Eccles Theater at the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend that Lopez delivers a performance unlike any she has ever given before, which hopefully will help her claim the long elusive Academy Award that she has missed in the past. It’s hard to imagine that this is Lopez’s first Broadway musical starring role, finally allowing her to fulfill her childhood dream she has had since watching West Side Story with her mother, but Kiss of the Spider Woman cannot be the last musical that Lopez stars in as she was made for this genre.

Continuing the trend of great Broadway musical adaptations that audiences have been treated to so far this decade and following in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Wicked, Kiss of the Spider Woman is everything a movie musical should be. With outstanding technicals that bring to life the technicolour movie world of Luis’s dreams with fabulous costumes and set design, breathtaking choreography that energizes each musical number and a precise direction from Bill Condon that results in yet another perfect musical adaptation to add to his resume, Kiss of the Spider Woman is destined to not only amaze audiences but leaving a lasting impression on them. With the emotionally charged themes that are more important than ever given today’s world, Bill Condon conjures up pure movie magic with a stunning musical adaptation that features a technical robustness to give Kiss of the Spider Woman the big screen musical adaptation it deserves, but it is the breathtaking performances of Tonatiuh and Jennifer Lopez that will make it one of the year’s most celebrated films.