Frida

Starring: Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Geoffrey Rush
Directed by: Julie Taymor
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, Drama
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the life of painter Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) and her relationship with fellow painter Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). The story tracks her from childhood, throughout her illustrious career.

Review:
Tim: This is a very interesting look at the fascinating life of an amazing artist. Kahlo lived a pretty unconventional life and it is depicted very well here.

Salma Hayek really transforms herself into Frida. From her nasty eyebrows to all her mannerisms, you occasionally wonder if you're really watching Hayek on screen. She does a great job.

Alfred Molina is superb in his role. The performance is a difficult one and he pulls it off flawlessly. He and Hayek don't have all the chemistry in the world, but that can't really be expected. Watch and you'll understand.

The rest of the cast is good as well, and only Ashley Judd deserves mention for a decent performance in a small but elegant role.

Frida is a very different film because Kahlo didn't live her life like normal biographies depict people. Sure, she made her mistakes and had successes, and those are all shown here. However, she was quite an eccentric personality, and that shapes the culture of the film. This is not your typical biopic, even if it follows the traditional biographical rules.

In many ways, the film regrettably tends to be boring. Especially bad are the scenes when Hayek and Molina have their problems. Here, the movie tends to drag on and on. I wasn't particularly interested in Frida's life, so that somewhat hurt my enjoyment. However, I also recognize and respect a well made movie. Not too many people in the United States know who Frida Kahlo is, so you can't really expect this movie to have as much impact as a film about Muhammad Ali or Ray Charles would. However, more people need to become familiar with Frida, and this film is an excellent way to do that. It is quite different, but not wholly unenjoyable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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