“Skincare” - Film Review
This review was originally posted on Film Obsessive.
Los Angeles is not known for its level-headed people. It’s a land of excess, fame, and image-obsessed individuals. Some grace the silver screen or can be heard on the airwaves, but there are plenty of Angelinos who simply want to be Known; not for any particular skill or talent, but to occupy another plane of existence and be revered by all who see them. One of the most important means of ascending to this level is skincare. Countless empires have been built in the beauty industry, so it’s only logical that a seedy underbelly exists beneath the perfect sheen. Skincare puts audiences in a thriller whodunnit that is more than skin deep.
Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) is the It aesthetician of Los Angeles, and she has a portfolio of wealthy celebrity clients. She runs a small, but consistently busy shop in the Crossroads of the World in Hollywood and is on the precipice of unveiling her own skincare line. It’s been a massive undertaking, both financially and emotionally. Hope can see the light at the end of the tunnel until a rival aesthetician, Angel (Luis Gerardo Méndez), moves into the shop across the way. Coinciding with Angel’s arrival, Hope begins to receive lewd messages online and is stalked in person. With the help of a life-coach-turned-friend (Lewis Pullman), Hope sets out to prove that Angel is behind this harassment because he wants to ruin her business.
(L-R) Elizabeth Banks and Lewis Pullman in Skincare. Image courtesy of IFC
There’s no shortage of stranger-than-fiction stories, and Skincare simply the latest addition to the genre. Hope Goldman is based on Dawn DaLuise, but viewers are told as the film opens that Skincare is a fictional story based on true events. Audiences argue about the burden a movie bears when adapting true events. Some believe the film must follow the real events beat by beat. After all, what’s the purpose of telling a true story if you’re not going to tell the real story? Others argue that a filmmaker is allowed to take creative liberties to tell whatever they deem to be the best version of the story.
In the case of Skincare, writer/director Austin Peters took the middle road. He borrowed some aspects of Dawn DaLuise’s story, while also being entirely up-front about the fact that Skincare is fictional; that it’s not interested in telling Dawn DaLuise’s reality. This may be partially due to the fact that what really happened is still somewhat up in the air. By owning up to the fact that Skincare isn’t claiming to be the absolute truth, it creates some freedom for the filmmakers. However, not following the story of Dawn DaLuise causes the audience to miss out on what could have been a bizarre crossover with Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. One of the people involved in the real-life trial was also a member of the group of teens who robbed the homes of celebrities in 2011.
Skincare is the narrative feature debut for writer/director Peters. In recent years, he’s been a main collaborator with Orville Peck and has directed five music videos for the country star. Peters is a prolific music video director who has worked with musicians like HAIM, Bastille, Diplo, and more. His first feature, Give Me Future, was a documentary about Major Lazer’s 2016 free performance to half a million people in Cuba. With this background, it’s no surprise that music plays a major role in Skincare. The score is a blend of dreamy, whimsical melodies that darkly contrast with the horror movie that’s playing out in front of the audience’s eyes. Skincare doesn’t solely fit into the horror genre, but it does like to play around in that sandbox. There are extreme close-ups of Hope stretching and pulling her skin. The world of the beauty industry, specifically in LA, is inherently unsettling, and Skincare revels in highlighting that.
(L-R) Ella Balinska and Elizabeth Banks in Skincare. Image courtesy of IFC.
Hope feels like a departure for Banks. Despite having a range of performances, Banks is most known for her work in comedies. Skincare sees her portraying a desperate woman who is determined to control the narrative, no matter the costs. She’s anxious, angry, and willing to ruin her own life in an effort to save it. The character of Hope is Sisyphean. The closer she gets to improving her life, the more it falls apart. Pullman’s Jordan is a perfect foil. He’s a life coach who seems to move frictionlessly through the world. Pullman is one of those actors who has an incredible means of lulling the audience into a false sense of complacency in regard to his character, then just absolutely yanking the rug out from under them in a thrilling way. Together, Banks and Pullman create a duo that’s fun to watch, even as their own lives turn upside down.
Skincare is an age-old story of obsession. What lengths will a person go to in order to obtain the thing they so desire? There’s a famous George Bernard Shaw quote that goes, “There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.” Hope Goldman has a hand in creating these tragedies in her own life, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to gain her greatest desire. Skincare is a true LA story about greed, reputation, and the importance of a good moisturizer.
Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd, and YouTube.