The Skin I Live In

THE SKIN I LIVE IN

Year : 2011

Director : Pedro Almodóvar

Genre : Psychological Thriller

Rating : ****1/2

‘The Skin I Live In’ is one of the most intriguing, interesting but disturbing films of the last decade or so. To describe this film will be almost impossible but I will do my best to convey the convolution of the plot without revealing spoilers.

Antonio Banderas is Robert, a plastic surgeon who is working on creating a synthetic skin which is impervious to mosquito bites, preventing malaria. His bioethics are however condemned by his practise, and is banned from doing any more research. At his home which also doubles as his clinic, a young woman is kept locked in an upper floor room, who wears a strange full body ‘stocking’. There is obviously chemistry between Robert and the young woman Vera, but we don’t know to what purposes and extremes. The story then jumps back six months to a grand wedding in a huge country estate. In attendance are hundreds of guests, including Robert and his teenage daughter Norma. During the wedding, Norma is attacked by a young man called Vicente, and develops a phobia of all males after thinking that he raped her. Robert finds Norma just after spotting Vicente leaving the scene, and exacts a terrible revenge on him.

Whilst I was watching this film I was immediately reminded of George Franju’s fantastic 1959 film ‘Eyes Without A Face’, in which elements of ‘The Skin I Live In’ can be clearly seen. The director, Pedro Almodóvar probably didn’t use Franju’s film as any kind of influence, but echoes of ‘Eyes Without A Face’ can be seen all throughout the movie. ‘The Skin I Live In’ also plays very much like a Cronenberg, Argento or even a Lynch film, with its non linear timeline, scenes of sexual violence and scenes of bodily metamorphosis. However, ‘The Skin I Live In’ doesn’t seem as exploitative as any of these directors films. Almodóvar has called ‘The Skin I Live In’ a horror story without screams or frights’. The movie is definitely not terrifying, but it is without a doubt disturbing, with many scenes that some people may find distressing.

 
The acting is first rate throughout. Banderas is perfectly cast as the antihero of this movie. He portrays a man who is brilliant but also clearly damaged. His attitudes to human skin match Dr. Frankenstein’s lust for flesh. Banderas obviously wants to shake off the desperado typecast from ‘Zorro’, ‘Once Upon A Time In America’, and even the ‘Shrek’ franchise. His voice may be extremely recognisable, but within a few minutes, you forget the voice of the big eyed Puss In Boots, and are quickly drawn into the psychology of this man who cannot find revenge. Elena Anaya is also fantastic as the young Vera, who kept prisoner by Banderas throughout the movie, who has a dramatic character change by the end of the film.

  
This film will divide people. Some people will see it as a disturbing and distressing movie, and some will see it as a pretentious, over the top mess. The storyline is very convoluted and some supporting characters could be seen to be eccentric for eccentricity’s sake. However, I saw this as a fantastic, fantastically acted, art house masterpiece. At the 65^th British Academy Awards, ‘The Skin I Live In’ won the BAFTA for Best Film in a Foreign Language, beating the equally brilliant Iranian movie, ‘A Separation’.  ‘A Separation’ is good, but I do think that ‘The Skin I Live In’ is a better made film, and should have won the Academy Award, not just the BAFTA.