In My Skin (2003)

Brilliant and touching

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film was great in a way, but also quite graphic. Some of the scenes left me hiding away, and yelling "no, don't do that!" I quite like how graphic it is, but it is also a film that is hard to understand. I think it shows how no one understands her desire to self harm. No one truly understands self-harm in the real world, unless they have been through it themselves. One thing I really didn't understand was the ending. I won't say what it was (because spoilers) but it wasn't the greatest. It didn't leave me feeling emotional at all, and it felt like that shouldn't have been the end.I had no emotional attachment to the characters. I felt absorbed into their lives, but I didn't hate them or love them, I didn't feel anything for them. I guess that isn't such a bad thing, as it means I'm not crying my eyes out on top of a wet pillow or something. I am a self harmer, and I was recommended this film by someone else who self-harms. It is good to watch, if you are not easily triggered by images of wounds, but if you are easily triggered, then I would say don't watch it.

"In My Skin" "In My Skin" is exactly the the way a film should be made. French Extremism is brought front and center in this film Written/Directed and Starring Marina de Van as the beautiful "Ester", a young women who descends into an abyss of psychiatric darkness of self mutilation/self cannibalism/autosarcophagy. Her boyfriend "Vincent" (Laurent Lucas, Calvaire) and friend "Sandrine" ( Lea Drucker) deal with the frustration of trying to help, to no avail! "In My Skin" is a horribly beautiful film with just the right amount of extremism to landscape the austerity of "Esters" ailment to a frightening reality."Ester" is a young women who attends a networking mixer with her friend and colleague "Sandrine". Wanting to get a breath of fresh air, "Ester" ventures out of the house in darkness. Hard to see, "Ester" falls, after picking herself back up, she ventures back inside and up stairs to the bathroom, where she notices a lot of blood on the carpet. She realizes that this trail of blood leads back to her! She looks at her pant leg, it's terribly torn. "Ester" lifts the tattered pant leg, only to reveal a ghastly tear in her flesh. Amazed at the fact she felt no pain, she leave she leaves the party and goes for a drink with her friends before visiting the hospital.Now infatuated with her new laceration, "Ester" spirals down the path of self mutilation, with a side of denial, shame and obsessive compulsion."In My Skin" is a sad film. This women is so overcome by her mental illness, it becomes hard to watch. Not for the scenes of the graphic images, but for the fact that their is no explanation for her behavior. I liked de Van's direction here. I could see how this could be perceived as poor development, but on the contrary, this is real life and we don't know if she was abused emotionally or sexually to end up this way. This is a direct reflection of the horrors of real life. You could have a friend, loved one or colleague that you think is perfectly normal to only find out that after hours they are tormented by demons. Somethings in life are just unexplained, we would never know unless we walked in their shoes. "IMS" is a haunting portrayal of succumbing to demons that haunt the vast majority.The imagination that is Marina de Van is unparalleled, a real sentiment to her writing ability, then somehow she turns it into real life on the big screen, this speaks volumes for her talent as a director. Her portrayal of "Ester" was so good, I felt for her on every slash.Laurent Lucas' supporting role was at times a bit much and overacted(like many of his scenes in Calvaire). Gladly he leaves it all to de Van to run with, and that is exactly what she does. Don't forget the mutilations she produces on her self with every sharp instrument she can find in arms reach. These scenes are all in full view for you to wriggle about in your seat. "IMS" is so good it can not be missed. It's so real...it's scary! BruceVain BruceVain's Blog

In My Skin certainly has some problems; but one of these problems isn't originality, and while things such as a lack of a true plot formula and explanation for the central character's actions may put some viewers off, the film deserves huge credit for stepping out of the mainstream and delivering something a little different to what most film fans will be used to. France has emerged over the past few years as one of the major forces in modern horror cinema, and while this film can't really be judged on the same terms as some of its fellow gory French horrors; it surely does help to bolster the nation's position at the top of the pile. The film represents a big personal project for Marina de Van; who wrote, directs and stars in the film! The plot begins when the central characters injures her leg fairly badly at a party. She is confused by the fact that despite the injury, she didn't really feel any pain and it's not long before she begins experimenting with her body and pain tolerance; eventually becoming unable to refrain from slicing herself open.The film is very different to the average mainstream horror and will not be well received in all circles. However, this certainly is a fascinating journey into a woman's 'discovery of herself' (for lack of a better term). The film does lack a defining point and becomes a voyeuristic look into what can only be described as the central character's disease. The film must then rely on its central character and set pieces, and the writer/director/lead actress definitely does deliver in this area. The film is not short on blood, but it's all used well and never feels gratuitous. The real power of the film comes from depicting the character's experiments on herself; I can generally stomach any amount of disgusting gore, but seeing the character here slice herself open had me squirming and that is testament both to the way we are made to care for the character and the very realistic way that the film is portrayed. The film is carried by the lead actress who is always the star despite some good supporting performances. Marina de Van can certainly be very proud of her work on this one! The appeal of this film can only go so far, but personally I loved it and will not hesitate to recommend that everyone at least gives it a look!

Marina de Van wrote, directed and starred in this, her feature film debut, which is a graphic exploration of addiction and raw human desire.At a work-related party, ambitious businesswoman, Esther (de Van) trips on some metal in the backyard and tears a gaping wound in her leg. At first she doesn't notice, but as the night wears on she glimpses her own bloody footprints on the carpet and eventually though rather reluctantly, goes to the hospital to get herself stitched up.Over the next few days she begins to pick at the wound and gouge new ones as things such as her demanding job, and over-protective boyfriend begin to stress her out; she finds that this practice relaxes her. Due to her work and worried loved ones, Esther tries to hide her self-harm and even goes so far as to fake a car crash to explain the lacerations on her arms. As the days and weeks progress, she begins to lose control and at one stage mutilates herself under the table at a dinner function whilst hallucinating. As her addiction reaches its peak she holes up in a hotel room and greedily cannibalizes herself while documenting her disfiguration with polaroids and saving chunks of her own skin to dry out like animal hide and stash in the safety of her purse for later.In My Skin portrays a woman in the depths of an obsession very few (if any) of us can understand; she begins to lose her sense of feeling, both emotionally and physically, and to compensate for it she begins to fetishize her body by exploring it in the most visceral way possible: by revelling in her own flesh & blood, tearing and eating her skin and wallowing wildly in her blood. It seems Esther's addiction to excessive self-mutilation began as a coping mechanism, but soon transformed into an act of narcissism taken to the extreme. When we see her caressing her opened up body, and erotically nibbling at her limbs, she is the ultimate egomaniac lost inside herself.At times the film can get quite graphic, especially in the last fifteen minutes when Esther is letting loose on herself in the hotel room: tearing chunks of flesh off with her teeth; cutting her face up with a kitchen knife, and further going to work on her leg. Yet some of the most teeth-gritting scenes for me were in the beginning of the film when she first cuts her leg up then opens the wound up further. The sound & gore effects are top-notch and make for some tense squirmin'-in-yer-seat moments.In My Skin is another great piece of modern French film-making that's right up there with the best of Catherine Breillat and Gaspar Noé's work. Also recommended for fans of those other self-mutilation-themed films: Naked Blood and Cutting Moments