Beneath the Skin

I really wanted to like this movie but somehow it fell short of boredom. How many landscapes with piano music backgrounds can you have? It was far fetched that someone from Alabama was on their way to Canada to open a tattoo shop, but how do you meet someone on a park bench and decide to take them with you. The writing was dismal at best and most of the actors sounded like they were reading off cue cards. I gave it 6 stars because I thought it was sweet but not really believable at all

It is tempting to be very critic about this film. Yes, many motives, a lot of mistakes,awful dialogue, not small expectations, wooden acting - the supporting actors as a sort of some spice - and a story not very inspired driven and, more important, the feel about nudity as axis saving the film. But the good intentions are obvious, the story works , in some measure, for a time, as crumbs, the naivety can be, first, terrible but it sounds reasonable to end, the plot is not bad but wrong used and a better chemistry between lead actors could be a good detail. But, short, not so bad.

This was seriously terrible, on so many levels. This movie was nothing more than a vehicle for writer/director/star Ellis to make out with porn star "Hunter Page". In an interview with Page, he exposes Ellis for finding him while "viewing his work" (gee, I wonder what that means). Page didn't seek out this job, it was Ellis who pursued Page and then (conveniently) cast himself as Page's love interest. The film itself is equally awful. I literally made it to 39 minutes into it before having to turn it off. The idea that Ellis' character, who has the personality of a dead snail and the looks of the most boring accountant on earth, would cause Hunter Page to instantly fall for him and then Page be the aggressor, is beyond laughable. Steer clear of this one folks.

...don't confuse yourself with a reviewer. "Beneath the Skin" is about a half-step above an ordinary student film. It has a respectable plotline and likeable characters, but it doesn't go anywhere. The script is problematic: Loose ends all over the place which scream out to be connected up and aren't; characters who do things with little or no motivation; subplots (and there are way too many) which are not fleshed out and have nothing to do with anything anyway. Some of the actors are quite promising, but the insufficiencies of the script leave them with little room to maneuver. Others of the actors are just not as yet very good (and may never be). The nudity is largely gratuitous. (If nudity isn't motivated, don't use it. In the 21st century, nudity no longer needs to barely suggested, but if the characters are going to have sex, it also no longer works to just hint at it.) The scenery in Nova Scotia is beautiful, of course, and in general the cinematography takes advantage of that, although at times the shots seem to be largely just random filler. The music ranges from pleasant to annoying. The editing seems ragged, although the editor may have done the best he/she could with the footage available. In short, "Beneath the Skin" is a beginner's work. It shows potential and shouldn't be dismissed because it isn't brilliant. Let's see what comes next; the creators deserve another chance.

CHRONICLES OF FIRST AND STRONG LOVES... WITHOUT TIME OR DISTANCE

I wandered off to see this feature film because I don't usually watch low-rated films, as it's a clear warning of what you're about to see. But that's not a rule written in stone (as we say here in LATAM), so I decided to give it a chance. And it was, at least, enjoyable.

We have the typical plot of first-time teenage love, that plot over-explored by independent cinema and Hollywood to the point of nausea, but here, at least on paper, it didn't feel like a rehash of other films or cinematic devices, although ironically there are some, but they are necessary to a certain extent.

The acting was good for what the script proposed. Even judging by the script, the acting was above what one would expect in a typical film of these modern times, and even more so in a plot that's already over-explored in general cinema, but it wasn't perfect either. Despite the fact that some actors occasionally didn't connect with their characters (there was, at times, a slight discomfort on the part, mainly, of the lead actor/director), and Wayne Virgo, who wasn't even the raw promise of the time, did something as good as he did in his debut feature and, to this day, his greatest film, Shank (2009), because they gave him a mediocre, almost filler character, forgetting how great he can be without feeling pressured. Still, it was clear that an effort was made to avoid falling into mediocrity.

The script was the film's downside. It has many flaws that seem straight out of a super-amateur film or a university thesis-type project, even though it was noticeable that there was production and certain resources (I mean, it didn't feel like a cheap film, at least from what you see in close-up), and it's a shame because the essence of the plot isn't bad. In fact, I saw some similarities with Steel (2015) or a better-made film in every way, Gameboys: The Film (2021), but due to a mediocre script and direction bordering on amateurish, it felt empty, without substance, and at times, like something that was done more than anything to please mass audiences than to make a more robust, daring, and courageous proposal. The film needed that because the proposal required it.

In short, it's not a bad film, but it's not perfect either. At least by its release date, there weren't yet the 1,000 films made in droves, repeating the same plot indefinitely, with different approaches, but which contributed little or nothing to cinema in general. It's entertaining to watch, at least if you want to relax in your room watching something for those nights when it's hard to sleep.

The title of my review was taken from the song "Mas Allá De La Piel" by Frankie Ruiz and curiously, it coincides with the film's title in Spanish.