When it comes to true crime dramas, Australian cinema is still working the kinks out of the concept. Recent efforts like Animal Kingdom and X argue for a rapidly developing aesthetic that doesn't shy away from the realistic peppered with the sensational. The same can be said for "true story" In Her Skin. Originally titled I Am You, it centers on the celebrated murder of teenager Rachel Barber by her former babysitter, Caroline Reed Robertson. Told in separate segments and from differing perspectives (parents, victim, killer), it attempts to raise sympathy in what is one of the most brutal crimes in recent Oz memory. While some of it does succeed in making us see the murderer's point of view, the eventual motive feels as exploitative and ridiculous as this often out of control film.
The best material centers on Rachel's distraught parents. Played by Guy Pearce and Miranda Otto, this couple comes across as wholly believable, unobtrusively ordinary, and realistic in their reaction to their daughter's disappearance. They want the police to take Rachel's (Kate Bell) situation seriously, while the cocky boys in blue think she's just another Aussie runaway. Soon, we shift over to Caroline's (Ruth Bradley) horrid home life, a dismal combination of poor self image, bad skin, body issues, and bitter, divorced parents. Perhaps best outlined by the nonchalant psychological abuse of her father (Sam Neill), we see a young girl giving in to the sick and twisted thoughts in her head as a means of escape. That she turns her sites on the "undeserved" popularity of Rachel becomes one of In Her Skin's sticking points. We get Caroline's desire to be this pretty and appreciated girl. We don't really get what it leads to murder.
That's the main problem with In Her Skin. It's so busy with narrative artiness and stylistic attempts that it forgets where its actual strength lies. This is a true story after all, a ripped from the headlines horror show featuring humiliation, degradation, and a horrendous death. But writer/director Simone North wants to avoid the reality TV trappings of her tale to play Peter Jackson. Indeed, one can't help but be reminded of Mr. Lord of the Rings' brilliant Heavenly Creatures (and to a similar extent, his underappreciated The Lovely Bones) when watching this film. From the two teen girls at the center to the ethereal voice over from our dead victim, the references are obvious. Sadly, the sense of dread and terror are not. North is so concerned over being fancy that she forgets this kind of film needs to knot up your insides, not woo your aesthetic.
There are a couple of sequences that achieve these aims. The last act crime is indeed shocking, its brutality matched only by its senselessness. Similarly, in a moment when Bradley strips down to show her uncaring dad the body she so desperately hates, the vulnerability and vileness are haunting. Still, those are rare instances in a story that's unnecessarily splintered, that doesn't take the time to establish motivations or meaning. Sure, we get "inside" Caroline's sour brain, recognizing her basic bi-polar tendencies and other latent conditions. But they don't make the necessary connection. While North is playing with Steadicam tracking shots and puzzle box plotting, the true nightmare goes missing.
The notion of a nutjob individual projecting their problems onto an idealized version of what they wish they could be is nothing new. That death results from the psychological conundrum is also an unfortunate given. On the basis of those two concepts alone, In Her Skin should be substantially better. Instead, we end with a clear case of a first time filmmaker getting in the way of the material that should make, not break her.
The best material centers on Rachel's distraught parents. Played by Guy Pearce and Miranda Otto, this couple comes across as wholly believable, unobtrusively ordinary, and realistic in their reaction to their daughter's disappearance. They want the police to take Rachel's (Kate Bell) situation seriously, while the cocky boys in blue think she's just another Aussie runaway. Soon, we shift over to Caroline's (Ruth Bradley) horrid home life, a dismal combination of poor self image, bad skin, body issues, and bitter, divorced parents. Perhaps best outlined by the nonchalant psychological abuse of her father (Sam Neill), we see a young girl giving in to the sick and twisted thoughts in her head as a means of escape. That she turns her sites on the "undeserved" popularity of Rachel becomes one of In Her Skin's sticking points. We get Caroline's desire to be this pretty and appreciated girl. We don't really get what it leads to murder.
That's the main problem with In Her Skin. It's so busy with narrative artiness and stylistic attempts that it forgets where its actual strength lies. This is a true story after all, a ripped from the headlines horror show featuring humiliation, degradation, and a horrendous death. But writer/director Simone North wants to avoid the reality TV trappings of her tale to play Peter Jackson. Indeed, one can't help but be reminded of Mr. Lord of the Rings' brilliant Heavenly Creatures (and to a similar extent, his underappreciated The Lovely Bones) when watching this film. From the two teen girls at the center to the ethereal voice over from our dead victim, the references are obvious. Sadly, the sense of dread and terror are not. North is so concerned over being fancy that she forgets this kind of film needs to knot up your insides, not woo your aesthetic.
There are a couple of sequences that achieve these aims. The last act crime is indeed shocking, its brutality matched only by its senselessness. Similarly, in a moment when Bradley strips down to show her uncaring dad the body she so desperately hates, the vulnerability and vileness are haunting. Still, those are rare instances in a story that's unnecessarily splintered, that doesn't take the time to establish motivations or meaning. Sure, we get "inside" Caroline's sour brain, recognizing her basic bi-polar tendencies and other latent conditions. But they don't make the necessary connection. While North is playing with Steadicam tracking shots and puzzle box plotting, the true nightmare goes missing.
The notion of a nutjob individual projecting their problems onto an idealized version of what they wish they could be is nothing new. That death results from the psychological conundrum is also an unfortunate given. On the basis of those two concepts alone, In Her Skin should be substantially better. Instead, we end with a clear case of a first time filmmaker getting in the way of the material that should make, not break her.
