A closeup of a woman’s face, pores, stray short hairs and all, then the camera reverses in motion, and Elizabeth Banks’ stunning eyes come in full view, her movie star picture-perfect face lighting up the screen as usual, she applies makeup as a woman in a shock, not as the picture ideal lady anyone would expect her to be.
With that, Skincare – directed by Austin Peters – starts as a bold commentary on aging, womanhood, our image-obsessed society, and other feminine demons. Hope Goldman – an ever-stunning Elizabeth Banks – known as the miracle worker of Hollywood takes another bold step by launching her skincare line, but that takes a toll on her business and psyche.
The camera work is simple; the immaculate camera angles are used to enhance the faces and skin routines, pores and blackheads, and extreme closeups of noses are painfully enhanced to visualize the painful procedures women go through for the sake of beauty, but also the deliciousness of this pain for the sake of shining on among their peers.
The film could have benefited from a bigger budget as the stunning, pristine nature of glossed-out places such as skincare boutiques and beauty centers seem empty and pastiche. The budgetary constraints have weighed down the aesthetic nature of a film that relies on the facade of aesthetic beauty standards and women’s obsession with power. The film score is also one of its main drawbacks and would have benefited from a little toning down, but overall the mood and the narrative drive the events smoothly.
Minor aesthetic quirks aside, the film is a bold statement on aging, and how the world despises a woman in power for too long. The brutal method of deconstructing Hope’s empire, one that she has been working on building all her life, is terrifying and may have been a perfect ploy for the center of the film’s attention. Apart from the competition with the younger, more exciting facialist, the film may have been a cry for help, a twisted take on modern beautification and seeking the ultimate escapism – turning back the clock of aging.
That being said, Elizabeth Banks kills it as Hope. Her ice queen, blonde exterior juxtaposes with her overtly warm interior. She creates a complex female character that is not as obsessed with beauty as her clients, but more of the power to control them and hold them in the palm of her hand. The film tries to do a lot in a short time. It fails to reach its full potential, but the effort is not wasted as Banks shines from one moment to another, as a woman barely keeping it together while her perfect tiny world crumbles.
Skincare finds its balance by blending camp with insightful social and economic commentary. It struggles a little with its tone and pace but keeps a positive vibe on its shoulder, trying to lighten a rather grim subject matter by making it part of a tapestry of a larger narrative point. A woman’s downfall from grace becomes a swan song to her career in the heartless, easily bored world of sunny Los Angeles. Strangely, this is where it finds its uniqueness and power.
Skincare is currently playing in theaters courtesy of IFC Films.
Skincare finds its balance by blending camp with insightful social and economic commentary. It struggles a little with its tone and pace but keeps a positive vibe on its shoulder, trying to lighten a rather grim subject matter by making it part of a tapestry of a larger narrative point.
-
GVN Rating
Jaylan Salah Salman is an Egyptian poet, translator, and film critic for InSession Film, Geek Vibes Nation, and Moviejawn. She has published two poetry collections and translated fourteen books for International Languages House publishing company. She began her first web series on YouTube, “The JayDays,” where she comments on films and other daily life antics. On her free days, she searches for recipes to cook while reviewing movies.
