Movie Review: ‘Skin’

Review by James Lindorf

Academy Award-winner Guy Nattiv made his English-language feature debut with Skin, a story of emotional and physical of transformation, inspired by actual events. If that name sounds familiar, it is because Skin was also the title of Nattiv’s Oscar-winning short. While the two projects share a name, have cast members in common, and feature similar themes, they tell different stories. In this version, we follow Bryon Widner whose difficult childhood drove him into the arms of Ma and Pa Krager and their Nordic brand of white supremacy while living outside of Toledo. Bryon spent 16 years as their most ruthless lieutenant, until a chance encounter left him questioning his actions and looking to escape to a new life. Skin stars Jamie Bell (Rocketman), Danielle Macdonald (Dumplin), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring). Skin has been available exclusively on DirecTV since June 27th and will be hitting select theaters on July 26th.

Director Nattiv and Cinematographer Arnaud Potier (Galveston) combined to give Skin a dynamic look that is, at times, as stark as the characters’ world view. The casting department stocked the film with talented actors, from top to bottom. One critical job for the director is to help the actors give the best performance they can. With that in mind, it is clear that Nattiv is a top tier director because Bell, Colter, and Macdonald all gave career-best performances. Vera Farmiga, who has been known to phone in a performance here and there, also gave it her best as the manipulative and dangerous Ma Krager.

With a runtime 1-minute shy of two hours, the biggest disappointment is that Bryon’s transformation happens almost in an instant and without a clear trigger. It could be his new love interest, an encounter with the mother of one of his victims, or seeing Pa picking up the next generation of hate. Instead of focusing on his mental evolution, the decision was made to concentrate on Bryon’s physical extraction from the group. While it is an emotionally and physically harrowing event, it is the less interesting aspect of this true story.

Skin itself can influence how we perceive and judge each other. It can be a canvas to capture moments in time or pay reverence to significant items. In the end, however, skin is superficial. Love and trauma go below the surface and are harder to erase then an ill-advised tattoo, unless you’re Bryon in this film. While the performances in Skin are enrapturing, the choice to take the easy way out in the story prevents it from being an all-time great and relegates it to very good, but forgettable.