Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

My first impression of this movie was one of ridicule. I thought that this movie was terrible and utterly ridiculous. A funny thing happened when I started to think about possible underlying meanings to this film. I realized that even though the movie took place in Madrid, Spain it could have been anywhere. The entire movie was about heartbreak and the crazy things women do when the feel out of control of the situation. The movie portrayed a woman, Pepa, who after having a torrid love affair found out she was pregnant. Only she found out she was pregnant after she found out the father was a gigolo. The emotional state of heartbreak plus the added emotional aspect of being pregnant made this woman crazy. Often times, Women who feel betrayed by a loved one have thoughts of murder and mayhem. While not usually acted on, most of us have had these thoughts at one point or another. Many times we feel as though we cannot bear to live without the other person so thoughts of suicide surface. Pepa putting all of the sleeping pills in a blender of gazpacho is a good example of the way women often plan suicides. I have seen women time and time again make stupid mistakes when it comes to being jilted, as I am sure I have as well. The pattern seems to be feelings of hurt, then anger, then feelings of possible reconciliation, hurt, and then finally acceptance of the situation. Pepa in this movie showed the myriad of feelings one experiences in this difficult time. At first,Pepa was sad and tearful. She then threw the phone through the glass door. After that, she started calling him wanting to tell him of the pregnancy in hope it would make a difference. Next, she was upset and throwing his suitcase in the dumpster. When she finally saw him, saved his life, and had the opportunity to tell him about the baby she decided it just wasn't worth it.
The first jilted lover, Lucia, was a classic example of the quote "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". The interesting thing about her is that she was portrayed to be "mentally ill." I would tend to agree that to hold a grudge for that long she was mentally ill. I guess there is a fine line between being truly mentally unstable and the behavior of one female slighted by the man she loves.
This movie could have happened anywhere. Love and being heartbroken is universal. Women and men all over the world have had these same feelings portrayed in this film at one point in their lives. I don't think a thing would change about this movie had it been filmed in the United States. I don't think that the feelings were exaggerated overmuch in this film.
There were a few things that I didn't quite grasp about the movie as well. What was up with the cab driver? I really didn't get that one. Why did the young man played by Antonio Banderas just start kissing that girl all of the sudden? I guess the only relevance I can come up with is that they were trying their best in the movie to cast men in the worst possible light. The girlfriend who came over after being tricked by the terrorists represented the fact that misery loves company. All in all, this movie was very strange to say the least.
Lachisha Williamson