60
We get a mother-daughter murder melodrama even more farfetched than the Joan Crawford classic, Mildred Pierce, on which this would appear to be loosely based.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
75
It's an admirable attempt, though a less than completely successful one. The film's disappointments lie not so much in Almodovar's controlled, respectful direction as in the strange gaps and displacements of his screenplay, which never seems to supply the scenes we most want to see. [20 Dec 1991]
50
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The story is stylishly filmed and acted with high spirits, but there's not much going on in many of its colorful shots.
40
It feels more like a prosaic knockoff than a classically inspired original.
40
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
High Heels has no real mirth and not even enough energy to keep it lively.
50
Mostly it's Paredes' imperious - then surprisingly generous - high-handedness that carries High Heels. [20 Dec 1991]
50
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Those who miss the wildness of his premainstream work will probably be only partially appeased.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
High Heels becomes mired in its own best intentions - primary colors and all.
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
An Almodovar film is always an exercise in style, but High Heels also generates narrative energy and mystery, and provides what was, for me, a genuine surprise at the end.