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During most years, short films don’t get a lot of attention. They’re typically not easily accessible, so very few people manage to see them. But this year, shorts are in. Wes Anderson has already released his Roald Dahl shorts to Netflix, and now Pedro Almodóvar brings his short Western, Strange Way of Life, to theaters.
Strange Way of Life reunites former hired guns Silva and Jake (Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke) twenty-five years after a job in Mexico turned into a passionate affair. But while Silva seems eager to reconnect with the man he once loved, Jake quickly turns cold and distant. He knows that Silva has another reason for traveling to the town of Bitter Creek—because Silva’s son is wanted for a violent crime, and Jake is the town’s sheriff, who’s set on bringing him to justice.
It’s not easy to fit a complete story into a short film, but the director manages to squeeze a whole lot of drama into just 31 minutes. He reveals the characters’ background over dinner—and through a brief flashback—and the tension builds during one increasingly heated morning-after conversation. The development is minimal, but, really, it’s all that’s needed. And everything works together to create a short but still solid Western drama with a twist or two.
Admittedly, there isn’t a whole lot of chemistry between the two stars, but since they both give strong performances, that isn’t too hard to overlook. Pedro Pascal may be best known for playing tough guys, but underneath his tough exterior, his character here is all style and heart—a genuinely sweet and kind-hearted man who still loves Jake after all these years. Ethan Hawke, meanwhile, plays his character as harsh and detached and suspicious of his old love’s intentions.
Somehow, the director manages to maintain the unhurried pace that’s common in Westerns, while also telling the story in such a short amount of time. Still, it might be just a little too short. The end feels abrupt, suddenly jolting audiences out of the experience. So while it does manage to fit a whole lot into a short time, it may have been more satisfying had it fit just a little bit more into just a little more time.
Still, with its Western style and its simple but well-told short story, Strange Way of Life is an eye-catching and absorbing drama—one that will leave audiences wishing they could spend just a little more time with these characters.
You can join this reunion on the range when Strange Way of Life arrives in theaters (showing with The Human Voice) starting on October 6, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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