Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!: this romantic comedy by Pedro Almodóvar, if it can even be called that, is certainly unusual: a young man, upon being released by a mental institution, goes directly to the woman he loves and tries to convince her to love him back. The issue is his method: he kidnaps, beats, and ties her. As such, what follows may be entertaining, but it’s not particularly convincing. Still, the charisma of the film’s stars is too large to ignore: Victoria Abril plays the young actress caught up in a situation beyond her control, and her emoting is quite effective; Antonio Banderas plays the young man who is in love but a bit disturbed. Production designer Esther García puts together a few beautiful apartments where the action takes place; cinematographer José Luis Alcaine captures it all with plenty of class. The musical score is by Ennio Morricone, and it’s beautiful and varied, quoting Hitchcockian motifs in the suspenseful moments but also nice romantic themes.