Skin & Bone
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Movie Reviews of Skin & Bone
Movie Review: A fascinating but flawed film
Summary: 4 Stars
This film that explores the lives of three hustlers at different points in their careers is dark and atmospheric. The bleak black-and-white photography is used to great effect and the images of the pimp Ghislaine endlessly circling the streets of Los Angeles in her car as she sets up "dates" for her stable strongly symbolize the emotional bleakness of the lives of the hustlers, particularly Harry. Much of the film was improvised over the course of a year, with director Lewis writing some material to loosely link together the improvised material. An incautious viewer might look at the disjointed effect this has on the film as a defect but instead it should be viewed as representative of the disjointed lives the hustlers, again especially Harry, are living. Harry is almost schizophrenic in his insistence in separating his job as a hustler from his attempts to get acting work. He looks upon his work with clients with a sort of twisted honor, an honor that being asked whether he does nude scenes (a coded request that he submit sexually to the casting director) is not hypocritical but instead fits perfectly with his character. While the penultimate scene is a little contrived, the film's final scene again makes perfect sense when viewed through the eye of the characters involved. This is a complex film but even if you're not into it for the complexity the performances and the attractive cast make it worth watching.Movie Review: Dark and a bit unsettling
Summary: 4 Stars
Set in Los Angeles, amid that city's arid strip malls, newsstands, and endless dusty streets, Skin and Bone prowls through the dark world of a trio of rent boys controlled by a mysterious madam named Ghislaine (Nicole Dillenberg). Harry (b. Wyatt) is an ambitious hunk who splits his time between tricking and trying to make it as a movie star. Handsome Dean (Alan Boyce) is younger and more naïve and falls into whoredom through a kind of pathetic disengagement with life that saturates this world and its denizens. A clueless pal of Harry's, Billy (Garrett Scullin), gets sucked into the life with disastrous results.Certainly not for everyone, its dark and bleak, I found it captivating and intriguing. With the use of different camera effects, infectious dialogue, and a good cast of characters it has become one of my favorites. A psycho-sexual drama that's sure to please!
Movie Review: Skin & Bone
Summary: 4 Stars
a very good film of type.
excellent work by director / actors
you will enjoy this one
Movie Review: Hypocritical Sleaze
Summary: 2 Stars
Sleazy film about an LA escort service that caters to clients with elaborate [mostly S&M] fantasies and the hustlers who work there while trying to get their break in the film industry. Writer/director Everett Lewis wants to eat his cake and have it too, decrying the exploitation of these men while putting his own actors on prurient display for the delectation of his audience. In one scene, a casting director asks the protagonist if he would be willing to do nudity for a film, to which the protagonist replies, with indignation, "I'm an artist." The irony is that B. Wyatt, the actor in that scene, appears here nude as often as he does clothed. Hypocrisy, bad acting, bad production quality and an absurd neo-noirish sub-plot make this film a big thumbs down. The only pleasures I derived from this one were the surprise of a brief appearance by David (credited here as Fernando) Arquette as a high strung john who has disfigured one of the rent boys with a hot iron and watching actor Alan Boyce as Dean, coyly cupping his package in every one of his many nude scenes. Watching him sweep the floor with one hand is priceless. What's he hiding under there anyway? Not recommended.Movie Review: A Flaccid Thriller
Summary: 1 Stars
A Flaccid ThrillerThis is a movie that is completely undone by its ending.
"Skin & Bone" falls into the "hustler life" subcategory of queer movies. The central character is Harry (B. Wyatt), an aspiring actor who hustles for a living, treating each job as a chance to hone his acting abilities. He works for Ghislaine (Nicole Dillenberg) and is assigned the task of helping train the newest member of her stable, Dean (Alan Boyce). Harry and Dean turn tricks with both women and men. It's all a matter of economics for them, although Dean is still new enough to the business that he still gets off getting off with his female clients.
Writer/director Everett Lewis uses unconventional structure and technique to tell his story, and the filmmaking is interesting. When the script is focusing on the dehumanizing elements of their lives and the profession of selling their bodies, it is interesting and the acting is professional, if not terribly exciting. Unfortunately, Lewis's script takes a turn into the melodramatic (a common element in the "hustler life" genre), and the last act of the movie fails because of it. I found the ending, intended to be tragic, to be completely unbelievable--relying on a character to be such a complete idiot that he didn't realize what was happening.
I would strongly suggest that you rent this movie before you consider buying it. If the "hustler life" genre appeals to you, then you might want to check out "johns" and much more interesting (if for location and culture alone) "Mandragora", although I don't strongly recommend either. "L.I.E." (not yet released on video or DVD) is better than these three titles, but it is not without its own flaws. If you want to see a really taut thriller about life on the streets, although not a queer film, then I would definitely recommend "Where the Day Takes You."
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