I wrote something new

An essay on Pedro Almodóvar—a long, long time coming!

Last July, an editor at The Point Magazine reached out to me and asked if I’d like to write an essay for them. I was really busy at the time, but I’d admired this magazine for so many years, how could I not be honored!

But what would I write about? It could be anything, I was told.

I had just seen a Film Update that one of my favorite directors since I was teen in Spanish class, Pedro Almodóvar, was coming out with a new movie based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2020 novel. Featuring none other than Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. SOLD! I had tried to write about Almodóvar before and had failed—like, I actually self-killed something I was writing on his previous movie. I’ve always loved him so much, but have never really been able to articulate why, or even do his work justice.

But I did end up writing something, and the resulting essay was published today! Please read it and let me know what you think in the comments or by email.

My first draft was a bit rough because I was not really sure what I was trying to say. I rewrote an entire second draft, featuring some moments of memoir. That one didn’t work either, but it did help me figure out WTF I was trying to say about this movie amd why I enjoyed it each time I saw it (twice, at the Sony Pictures screening room). The resulting essay is a bit of a patchwork of V1 and V2, and something I feel proud of. In the end, it became a meditation on youthful cinematic ticks, maturity and kindness, Greta Gerwig(?!) and female friendship—in my life and in our culture.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it.

Alana