Devil Between the Legs (2019) Review

Title: Devil Between the Legs

Year: 2019

Director: Arturo Ripstein

Country: Mexico

Language: Spanish

Early September 2019 my wife and I went to Toronto International Film Festival for the first time. We saw four films; Devil Between the Legs, A Hidden Life, Lucy in the Sky and It Must Be Heaven. Devil played at the Bell Lightbox at 9:15pm. I quite liked the theatre, as it had an elevator butler and very high quality seating. The distance between the seating and screen made it so pretty much every seat in the house was a good one. After Devil I was able to meet the director Aruro Ripstein for a Q&A. It was a memorable experience. 

Beatriz (Silvia Pasquel) and the Old Man (Alejandro Suárez) have been together for decades. A retired homeopathic pharmacist, the Old Man now divides his time between their Mexico City home where he shuffles around in his housecoat, raging against Beatriz, and paying secret visits to his mistress. Beatriz, when not bearing the brunt of the Old Man's tirades, sneaks out to take tango lessons.

Devil Between the Legs feels like what would happen if Luis Bunuel remade Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). It's a bold and innovative picture that treads a fine line, narrowly avoiding being too offensive or off-putting to be enjoyable. Ripstein does what very few have thought of in cinema; put the erotic desires and impulses of a geriatric couple in their 70's at the forefront of this drama-comedy. 

Even if you're, like me, a bit confused about what to make of the picture, I can certainly attest that Devil Between the Legs is quite memorable. The cinematography and set design seem to be quite in sync with the deterioating condition of the couple throughout the film. The weird dynamics within the picture are complimented with a strong script that brings our characters to a more sympathetic and endearing light. A poor director/writer would have made us detest these people, but instead we see outselves within them.