By Jason Osiason

Some films exist to sweep you away, and some force you to sit with the harshness of reality. Kiss of the Spider Woman somehow does both, wrapping a deeply political drama inside a dreamlike, Technicolor-infused fantasy. It’s a film about love, survival, and the stories we tell ourselves to endure, and for the most part, Bill Condon balances these elements with precision.

At the center of it all is Luis Molina, played with radiant, heart-wrenching depth by Tonatiuh in what will undoubtedly be a breakout performance. Molina is a gay hairdresser imprisoned in a nameless Latin American dictatorship, locked away for reasons that should never be crimes. In his cell, he shares space with Valentin, a hardened political prisoner who has suffered for his revolutionary beliefs. They couldn’t be more different—Molina, dramatic and poetic, using old movies as a shield against the darkness; Valentin, stubborn and angry, rejecting fantasy in favor of his unwavering ideology. But in this cramped, inescapable place, a fragile intimacy grows between them, something more profound than either of them expected.

Molina copes through storytelling, recreating entire films in vivid detail, losing himself in the world of old Hollywood epics and grand romance. And that’s where she comes in—Aurora, the Spider Woman, played by Jennifer Lopez in a role that both dazzles and frustrates. As the embodiment of Molina’s cinematic obsessions, she slinks across the screen in rich, dazzling musical numbers, her presence both intoxicating and fatal. Lopez is mesmerizing in these sequences, her performance electric, but by design, she never quite feels real. That’s the point—she’s a fantasy, an idea more than a character—but it leaves her impact feeling slightly muted.

Visually, the film is stunning, shifting between the grim confines of the prison cell and the lush, hyper-stylized world of Molina’s mind. The juxtaposition is striking, making the moments of fantasy feel like brief gasps of air before reality comes crashing back in. And the way Condon weaves these two worlds together—sometimes seamlessly, sometimes with jarring cruelty—makes for a film that feels both elegant and devastating.

If there’s a flaw, it’s that not all of the elements hold equal weight. Some of the emotional beats between Molina and Valentin feel a little rushed, and while the film mostly sticks the landing, the third act loses just a bit of its grip. The emotional buildup is there, but the resolution doesn’t hit quite as hard as it should. It still works, still lingers, but it doesn’t devastate the way it feels like it should.

That said, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a film that will stay with people. It’s lush, heartbreaking, and deeply theatrical in its storytelling. Tonatiuh delivers a performance that will be talked about all year, radiant and soul-crushing in equal measure. And while Lopez’s character might not land as strongly as expected, her presence elevates the film, adding a layer of grandeur to Molina’s dream world. [B+]