After 25 years' absence, Silva rides a horse across the desert to visit his friend Jake who is now the Sheriff of a small Wild West town.

Jake is informed by one of town residents that the suspect in the recent murder of his brother's widow who was last seen leaving her home looked like her violent boyfriend Joe.

The next day, Silva finds Joe at home on his ranch and angrily excoriates him, giving him just enough money and a horse to cross to Mexico, telling him to never return.

[5] Almódovar worked with recurring collaborators such as cinematographer José Luis Alcaine and composer Alberto Iglesias, whilst Teresa Font took over film editing.

[7] Speaking on Dua Lipa's podcast At Your Service, Almodóvar described the film thus:[8] "A queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other.

The website's consensus reads: "A tantalizing glimpse of the bond between two people, the well-acted Strange Way of Life adds a brief but still rewarding chapter to Pedro Almodóvar's filmography.

"[22] Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood praised Hawke and Pascal for bringing "authenticity and a believable lived-in feel to their characters and this relationship",[23] while David Fear of Rolling Stone reviewed Strange Way of Life as "a provocative movie that brings out the best in both of its leads".

[24] In his negative review for Variety, Peter Debruge [de; ru] called the film "a glorified fashion commercial" for Yves Saint Laurent, adding that "the use of models instead of actors betrays what this really is: a branding exercise, both for Almodóvar and costumier Vaccarello, plus two stars eager to show their allyship.