Second Skin
by Gerardo Vera
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ariadna Gil, Cecilia Roth, Javier Bardem, Jordi Mollą, Mercedes SampietroDirector: Gerardo Vera
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: New Yorker Video
Movie Reviews of Second Skin
Movie Review: Bardem: fearless; Molla: even better; the ending: a copout
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all, if you made it here, congratulations! This movie is hard to find. Released in Spain as "Segunda Piel" and in the UK/US as "Second Skin," amazon.com has filed it oddly under "Secondskin." The only way to get here was to hop over to amazon's imdb.com affiliate, put in Javier Bardem's name, find "Segunda Piel," then use the link there to hop back over to amazon.Phew.
Anyway, this movie is a real treat, up until the last 10 minutes or so. Bardem plays a gay man again (albeit, *quite* different than his superb playing of Reinaldo Arenas in "Before Night Falls"), this time falling for married man Jordi Molla.
As good as I expected Bardem to be, Molla is even better. He's a confused soul. He's got anguish all over his face and in every little nuanced action (the self-conscious, repetitious patting down of his hair is but one perfect touch).
Bardem and Molla go further here in the portrayal of the physical aspects of their relationship than you could ever expect two equivalent American stars to go. These are two of Spain's leading actors. As a good exercise, try to picture Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in these scenes. Wouldn't happen.
The ending is a copout though. Very disappointing. There had to be a better way to end it than the cheap exit taken by the filmmakers. Still though, it can't spoil two fearless performances by Bardem and Molla.
Summary of Second Skin
Excellent acting elevates Second Skin to earnest heights of heartfelt melodrama in contemporary Madrid. It's a Spanish soap opera in the most intelligent sense, inviting comparison to the intimate passion plays of Pedro Almódovar and Eric Rohmer. Director Gerardo Vera's approach is more conventional, despite the fact that this modest tale of marital discord involves an unhappy wife, Elena (Ariadna Gil), whose suspicions are only slightly mistaken. Instead of another woman, her husband Alberto (Jordi Mollą) is having an affair with Diego (Javier Bardem, from Before Night Falls). He's tormented by his genuine love for his wife, child, and gay lover, and his inability to choose between them. Unfortunately, the screenplay decides for him, resorting to a last-minute twist of fate to resolve the dilemma that Alberto couldn't solve on his own. It's a cop-out solution, more suited to bad cable TV, weakening an otherwise honest and emotionally involving film. Recommended, with minor reservations. --Jeff Shannon
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