The Flower of My Secret (1996)

In one of his more mainstream films, popular Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar shifts to standard melodrama in The Flower of My Secret. The story and style is toned down from the usual Almodóvar trademarks of high camp and wild, colorful, and kinky characters. Leo, capably played by Marisa Parades, is treated tenderly, and the struggles with her marriage and career are shown with sentiment, rather than bent toward comedy. Compared to his previous outrageously styled works, this departure suffers as a paler version of his zany comedies. However, it also marks a point of maturity for his characters. It can be debated whether Almodóvar is referring to his own career in the character of Leo, a pulp romance novelist who hates her popular work and wants to write something serious. The character Leo makes references to Hollywood director George Cukor, and it appears Almodóvar is striving for that director's elegance, especially in their shared respect for film heroines. Almodóvar would continue to explore the psychological drama genre in his highly successful All About My Mother. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide