By Melissa Antoinette Garza
IN HER SKIN (2009) is an Australian thriller put out by IFC films. I hadn’t heard of it and the DVD was a library find. It looked interesting enough and had RAWR RAWR Sam Neill in it, so I decided to give it a go.
Now, I love flicks about obsession. FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), UNLAWFUL ENTRY (1992) and the frightfully fabulous PLAY MISTY FOR ME (1971) are some of my faves. I even like the lesser known ones like THE ROOMMATE (2011), A KILLER AMONG FRIENDS (1992) and FRIENDS ‘TIL THE END (1997). Those flicks are compelling, fun and over-the-top crazy, and that’s sort of what I expected here. I figured it’d be a little more serious and low-key since IFC put it out and they are a little more tactful with their true accounts.
The film opens in 1999 with Michael (Guy Pearce) and Elizabeth Barber (Miranda Otto) frantic over their 15 year old missing daughter Rachel (Kate Bell). The police are no help as they think she ran away. They are pretty cold and wouldn’t even let the parents hang a missing poster. The coppers in this flick are fuzz scum more interested in pushing pencils than helping. Instead, the Barbers call their friends together to brainstorm where she could be.
Rachel’s boyfriend Manni (Khan Chittenden) is the first to add any insight. He claims that Rachel ran off for a business opportunity with an older woman. This makes Elizabeth think foul play was involved. Everything from prostitution and sex trafficking enters her mind.
This is when we are introduced to troubled woman, Caroline (Ruth Bradley). Four years prior, Caroline had babysat the Barber kids on occasion. She has always been awkward, lonely, scared and has hated herself. She writes letters where she begs for help from her nearly estranged father David (Sam Neill). He throws money around, but steers clear whenever possible. Caroline’s mother is in certain ways much worse.
Yes, she’s overwhelmed going thru a divorce and has a troubled teen daughter – but the dame is a bitch. No wonder, David left that wench. She trashes Caroline where she can hear and rather than look into why her daughter is filled with so much pain and hate, she just criticizes her and throws a pity party for herself. Fuck that mom!
Caroline needs mental help. She’s lost and has been her whole life. She’s sought out therapy, but nothing works and people lay a lot of judgment on her with very little sympathy.
When Caroline sees how Rachel has everything, she grows jealous. She had idolized Rachel since babysitting her and seeing her dance in a wonderfully beautiful routine. She just wants a piece of that happiness. She wants to feel something other than disappointing others and herself.
Rachel never seems to disappoint. She had a sexy boyfriend, terrific parents and a stable home life. Beyond that, she was wildly talented, a vision of beauty and had an aura of confidence that Caroline couldn’t even pretend to have.
I’m not saying that I’m TEAM CAROLINE. I just don’t hate the chick. I can’t. She was lost and legitimately screaming for help. She wrote books of letters that her mother knew about where she begged for a way out. The gal just wanted a lifeline. Instead, she was looked at as a burden, a mistake and an embarrassment. Her mother even has the audacity to say that Caroline was always bad. Really bitch? Get her some goddamn help and if the doc isn’t helping, find another fucking doc or worst case scenario, institutionalize her. Just for the love of God, don’t make things worse, you fucking twat! Don’t bellyache in the kitchen about how hard it is for you! You’re a bad mother, I don’t like you and I kind of want to punch you in the face!
That isn’t to say David is a good father.. There are times he tries, but Caroline is overwhelming. She strips in front of him and says how much she hates her body. Damn, this is a heavier movie than I even imagined! In that scene, I do feel for the dad. He walks over with a towel, wraps it around her and calls a doctor for her. He tries to give her a pep talk, but just doesn’t know how to deal with such mental disorders. I don’t know why I give him more allowance than I do the mother, but he just seems a bit more compassionate towards her – plus he’s portrayed by Sam Neill and imma love me some Sam Neill.
Caroline doesn’t get the help she needs and instead devolves into a full on obsession with Rachel. She concocts a plan and tells Rachel about a confidential job that doesn’t exist. Rachel accepts the offer and tells her boyfriend Manni some scant details. He tries to talk her out of going because he senses something is off. He tries to get more info, but Rachel follows orders and refuses to give up anything else. Her eyes are on the green and she doesn’t presume there will be any danger.
Of course, she’s wrong. There is no job and Rachel is conned into a horrifying predicament and into one of the most terrifying scenes I’ve seen in awhile. Kudos to Ruth Bradley for amping up the crazy and making it believable. She has phenomenal acting chops, for sure.
As the search for Rachel continues, Caroline starts to gloat and believe she’s gotten away with it. Her attitude here is when my compassion for Caroline starts to dwindle. It doesn’t fully go away because I do wonder had she gotten the help she needed, if she would have been a functioning and caring member of society. It goes back to the nature/nurture debate. Was the mother right and Caroline was just born evil or did the circumstances surrounding her home-life trigger her actions? I always find those questions interesting ones to ponder.
There was something within Caroline that wanted to be good and wanted to get the love and adoration of those around her. For whatever reason, she believed the way to accomplish that was to take over Rachel’s life. It’s so fucked up.
In the end, Rachel was the victim. In real life of course but also in this film, Rachel and her family were the ONLY real victims. That said, I still do have lingering empathy for Caroline’s plight. Maybe, it comes from the burned memories in my head of being the awkward lonely girl who drowned herself in self-pity during the teen years. I don’t know. Whatever it is, I felt something for her. Yes, I wanted her to be held accountable. Yes, I wanted her to be imprisoned for her actions – but I’m not out for blood. If the truth is like this flick, prison and therapy is the combo I think Caroline needs.
This is a disturbing movie, but it is very well done. The acting is topnotch and everyone brings their A game. The pace, tone and storytelling devices used work in every scene. It would have been a far easier task to make Caroline just some crazy obsessed wench driven by covetousness alone, but instead the filmmakers took a much more difficult route, and the payoff is so worth it. It’s a struggle to hate Caroline and her actions are heinous and not downplayed. Her violent tendencies are shown and are scary. I’m a tough gal, but would not want to be alone in a room with that chick without having a weapon or two on me for protection. Still, the movie shows the sad side to her, the beaten down side, the mentally dead side. That’s where it actually excels.
As you can guess, I highly suggest IN HER SKIN (2009). As I said, I scored this at the library but if you have SHOWTIME, it’s free thru your subscription service. Otherwise, rent this baby. It’s worth it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
