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The Reflecting Skin (1990)

Director: Philip Ridley

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2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Set amid the golden corn of the '50s Midwest, Ridley's directorial debut (he scripted The Krays) confronts 'the nightmare of childhood'. Virtually ignored by his neurotic mother and ineffectual father, eight-year-old Seth (Cooper) creates a world of his own, imagining that reclusive English-woman Dolphin Blue (Duncan) is a vampire, and that the foetus he finds in a barn is his dead friend transformed into an earth-bound angel. Reality begins to seep in when Seth's father is accused of murdering children who have gone missing in the area, and Seth's older brother (Mortensen) returns from the Pacific with tales of a bomb that explodes like a second sun. The complex, non-linear narrative is almost operatic in its visual and emotional excess, employing exaggerated camera angles, saturated colours and an ultra-loud soundtrack to create a heightened, sometimes dangerously portentous reality. Admirably ambitious but, one suspects, a little overripe for English sensibilities.

Author: NF 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • Doug said...
    Posted on Oct 30 2008 15:40 read my comments and I rate it highly
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  • Doug said...
    Posted on Oct 30 2008 15:38 definitely a bizarre movie, but an incredible production ...... it is many stories within the obvious story .... every time you watch it, you'll pick up more and more information ...... don't get me wrong - it's not a nice picture - it's a scary, terrifying and revolting tale of a kid in the middle of some bad stuff through his eyes ..... for adults only ..... the discovery is part of the adventure, so don't read about it in advance ...... not on DVD yet ...... and you may discover why it's called The Reflecting Skin
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Cast & crew

Director: Philip Ridley

Producer: Dominic Anciano, Ray Burdis

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper, Sheila Moore, Duncan Fraser, Evan Hall full cast

Duration: 95 mins


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