Amores Possieves is film about three possible outcomes of a romance between Carlos and Julia. This film manages to be humorous and poignant at the same time. The director does a good job of moving between the three romances and the three versions of Carlos, Julia, and Pedro.
I think Pedro (Emilo de Melo) does a fantastic job at being the voice of reason to Carlos in his various incarnations. Murilo Benicio (Carlos) seems to be at his best acting, portraying the divorced Carlos, who is not sure if he wants Julia or Pedro. Because Benico pulls so much sympathy for Carlos from the audience, you become blind to his selfishness and in a way his manipulation of Julia and Pedro. He knows Julia still wants him and realizes (as Pedro gently reminds him or calls him out, however you want to see it) how easy it is to restore her passion for him. Yet, Carlos portrays himself as a victim of her anger and claims not to understand her viciousness toward him, despite the fact Julia has told him she wishes he were dead. Pedro reminds Carlos he left her for a gay man and thus, destroyed their relationship and her self esteem. The most tender scene between Pedro and Carlos is when Pedro asks Carlos if there is something going on between him and Julia and Carlos says, "I don't know how to lie to you."
Carolina Ferraz does a great job as Julia in all of her incarnations and with each version of Carlos, she realizes his short comings and decides to love him anyway. The way she dresses as ex-wife Julia, is almost symbolic of Julia's feeling her femininity has been cut out or destroyed by Carlos. She reverts back to a soft (she puts on a dress, is less tense), almost casual Julia, when it seems as if Carlos is headed back to her. Ferraz's strongest acting skills come to light as ex-wife Julia. You feel the passion, the pain of betrayal, and the tragedy of loving someone too much and having that person destroy you.
The extended adolescence of Carlos is great and does a good job of capturing the relationship between a mother and son, with a touch of Oedipus complex for good measure. The long shaggy hair, his lack of transportation, and Carlos living at home are all excellent backdrops to a man who fears commitment and is looking for someone just like mom. His arrogance and stupidity are on full display when signing up for computer love.
The tepid relationship Carlos and Maria endure, does a good job of making the audience wanting Carlos to leave Maria for the passion he could share with Julia, but also does a good job of showing what happens when a dream is realized and the reality of that dream, or in this case Julia, comes crashing in. Carlos realizes that even with Julia he cannot escape the demands of a relationship and honesty. His reluctance to leave Maria or hurt her, and his need to be with Julia on a "trial basis" shows the lack of clarity he has. Of course Maria knows Carlos isn't on a business trip, which is why she seems almost smug in her attitude towards Julia in the store, who gets a shock of her own. You see the maturation of Carlos when he ends his relationship with Julia and realizes you can't build a relationship on dreams and lies. He and Maria don't have passion, but they have an investment in each other and clearly he has a profound respect for Maria.
Eventually all versions of Carlos arrive at a point of clarity when he stops deceiving himself and come to grip with the realities of his love for the Julias. The rose colored glasses come off and he finds that there is no form of love that doesn't have thorns. All in all a movie that keeps you interested, with and ode to forties films at the end.
