If a story about gender identity has to be told in film, there is a long list of competent directors up for the task. Sexual perversity and voyeurism are also in discussion? Then you probably want to give David Cronenberg or Paul Verhoeven a call. But if you also throw in melodramatic betrayal and vengeance on top of all that, then there is really only one person on earth you can turn to—Pedro Almodóvar.French author Thierry Jonquet’s novel Mygale is exactly such a story—one that’s almost tailor-made for Almodóvar’s thematic obsessions and artistic proclivities, and the Spanish film maestro takes his idiosyncratic tastes to extreme ends as he adapts the work of fiction for his latest thriller, The Skin I Live In, pivoting on the mysterious and creepy relationship between a plastic surgeon and his alleged patient. Though the story is immensely fascinating and startling on paper, when projected on screen, it comes across as surprisingly less disquieting and effective, leaving the audience unmoved.Reteaming with Almodóvar here is his early star Antonio Banderas, whose last collaboration with the writer-director, the deliciously kinky Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, was made 21 years ago. Banderas plays mad scientist Robert Ledgard, a Nip/Tuck-version of Dr. Frankenstein who invents a new type of artificial skin that’s burn- and cut-proof, despite the disapproval and moral concerns of his colleagues. In his elaborate and tastefully decorated mansion in the Toledo suburbs lives a woman (an absolutely stunning Elena Anaya), dressed in a flesh-colored bodysuit and locked away in an upstairs bedroom. Her name is Vera Cruz; she’s the surgeon’s patient, his guinea pig for skin transplantation and, most of all, his prisoner.The film is packed with twists and turns so shocking that they can be slightly comical. So it’s a disappointment that all the promising sensationalism embedded here doesn’t quite pay off, for the director presents the devious storyline in a rather straight and gentle manner, and also chooses to switch the film’s perspective halfway through from Robert’s to Vera’s. These two missteps cause the audience emotional confusion, making it difficult for moviegoers to identify with either character. But despite being less profound and arresting than many had hoped, the film itself is still an exquisitely unique piece of art.