Skin (12A)

Never been on this site before. Saw "Skin" and I agree with both Huddleston's piece and some of what the reviewers wrote. I was an African teen in the sixties in So.Africa and when we read about what the Laings were going through, we laughed. It saddens me today to recall all that realizing that not once did we think of what Sandra herself was going through. We just thought that the parents deserved what they were getting because they were "racist Afrikaners". Sad. I totally agree that Sandra should have been played by 3 people. The supposedly teenage Sandra just did not look young enough. It absolutely angered me thinking...."they could have done better". They quickly wanted Sophie's acting skills but it just did not go with her thirty plus look. The music could have been better. Still, I enjoyed the movie immensely.....maybe because I'm from So.Africa and it reminded me of "home" though I grew up in Durban with East Indians as neighbors and not a shack in sight. Movie got me teary eyed a few times. Good to hear that Sandra and her kids and their kids do well today. Touching indeed.

An excellent film. I nearly didn't see it as I took Tom Huddleston's review seriously. Thank goodness I decided to ignore it. The film beautifully tells the story of a family struggling through the era of Apartheid. The characters are complex, leaving no one without reproach, and skillfully demonstrates how the apartheid regime twisted the lives and minds of good people. It is true that Sandra Laing should have been played by 3 actresses instead of 2, but Sophie Okenedo's acting does a good job of making you forget that she is a too old for the middle role. The film does a fantastic job of portraying the historical reality within a brilliant drama which grips until the end. One of the best films I have seen in ages. I will be sure to ignore anything Tom Huddleston writes in the future. He clearly isn't a very good film critic! And as for Alexander's comment here about friends of the film-makers... Has he actually seen the film? I have very high standards - and often walk out of films which are poor. I don't know who made Skin - but I can tell you, I look forward to the next film they make!

A "..bland, unmemorable biopic.." which has ".. lost sight of the conflicts inherent in her story .." and which relies "..on TV-movie cliche.." to tell the story? I couldn’t disagree more. Tony Fabian and his cast and crew have made a truly gripping and transformative drama out of a true story. They have also achieved something any storyteller knows is almost impossible - namely not altering the facts to suit the demands of drama. I saw the film with two South Africans, both of whom grew up in the South Africa of the 1950’s. Both were impressed by the truth of the storytelling and both were enormously affected on all levels, not the least emotionally. For me, who has lived my life in the film, TV and radio industries as a writer, editor, educator and co-producer, the film also achieved something few films have ever done: it completely absorbed me, so that at no time was there a part of me watching from a craft point of view. I can count on one hand the films that have achieved this over a life-time in the profession of storytelling. Rather than relying on TV or any other kind of cliche, the truth of this film is so powerful it totally suspended my critical judgement while I was watching it. The film touched me in a way drama is meant to touch: it moved me, and having moved me profoundly, it motivated me to think long and deeply on what it is to be human. It not only stimulated my mind, more importantly, it lifted my heart to see a protagonist survive the level of pain and injustice that Sandra Laing experienced. Finally, it gave me great pleasure to admire, post-viewing, the craft of the makers of this film. It is rare to see so many talents brought together into a cohesive whole - to span an entire lifetime with such economy, power and rhythm. It was a shock to read Tom Huddleston’s critique. One wonders whether the very power and truth of the film has caused such a response which amounts to virtually a total denial of the work. A pity when the film is not only worth seeing as a work of art, but also for the story it tells. Thankfully other critics did not see it as Tom Huddleston seems to have done.

I found Skin's blandness almost unbearable, the quintessence of reducing complex issues to lowest common denominator cliches. Fabian manages to turn a potentially interesting storyline into an un-harmful TV movie. The sirupy, atrocious score peppered with dull as dishwater pop songs is just the cherry on a rather sickening cake. Unless you have a collection of individually named teddy bears or you happen to think that Bono is actually saving the world, avoid!

It is sad for a well known critic to have missed the point so badly. For the sake of full disclosure, I have become a friend of the film makers AFTER knowing the Sandra Laing story for many years. I grew up in Apartheid South Africa, and was heavily ivnolved in the anti-apartheid movement. This film was incredibly impressive in its ability to recreate the feel of those times - the bleakness of a Highveld winter, the sense of hopelessness and despair, and the undercurrent of real menace. Mr Huddleston - LIFE was a series of “… drab restrictive ranch houses, tin shacks and courtrooms� . Photographing said farmhouses in a different light is your prerogative, but the emotive impact of that very dullness was perfect. For the reviewers information - I took a number of Indian and black South African friends of mine now living in the US to to see this film, and every one of them was moved to tears - not only by the poignancy of the story, but for the joy they felt in seeing those very hard times so grittily and truthfully represented on screen. I respect your opinion Mr Huddleston but I hope you have not done too much damage by influencing people to stay away from a piece of work that desreves a wider audience

I'm surprised by the review TimeOut gave this film! I found it moving, thought provoking and beautiful. It managed to combine the beauty of South Africa with the ugliness of aparthied. One test for me is whether it stuck in my mind and prompted me to recommend it to friends - it has done both. The reviewer's tone seems angry and hateful to me, especially in the comments - it's a shame!

I may be a moron, but I have spent time in South Africa. Please see my earlier comment re: photographing said farmhouses.

As as an ex-South African, I would urge the reviewer to go to South Africa. His ignorance about South Africa during the apartheid era, as is evident in his criticism of the film... Criticizing the "drab farmouses" which feature in the film is a bit silly, no? It is SOUTH AFRICA -- there are shanty towns, townships, Afrikaans towns etc. which may not appeal to the reviewer, who clearly lives in a box. Anyway, he totally missed the point... I suggest he get an education, as this reviewer sounds like a moron who missed the point of the movie it seems.

Not sure that the reviewer and I saw the same film?! It's an amazing story well told and I found it intensely moving by the end. I'm not usually moved to comment on these boards but the injustice of the review has raised my shackles!

I've not seen the film, and I probably won't as it doesn't sound like a must see to me, but I do know one thing, and that's Tom Huddlestone is by miles the worst film reviewer around at the moment. I can forgive the idiots in the tabloids who are just plugging for their friends in PR, but TH seems to write his reviews on the way out of the cinema, never letting himself think over a film, always just a knee jerk reaction mixed in with a boring sense of Nathan Barley need for cool. He seems more in love with his job than he does with films. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he does come out of the cinema and spend a day or so reflecting on what he's seen, trying to see what the filmmakers intended, but that certainly never comes across in his reviews. All I see is a dull need to be opinionated.