Metal Skin (1994)

Psycho Joe, a petrol-head from Altona, Melbourne, secures employment at a local Supermarket. Here, he meets the over-sexed Dazey. Joe and Dazey form a friendship based on a mutual interest ... See full summary »

Director:

Geoffrey Wright

Writer:

Geoffrey Wright

Stars:

Aden Young, Tara Morice, Nadine Garner

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aden Young	...	Joe
Tara Morice	...	Savina
Nadine Garner	...	Roslyn
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Dazey
Chantal Contouri	...	Savina's Mother
Petru Gheorghiu	...	Pop
Arthur Angel	...	Paul Secchi
Richard Sutherland	...	Rosco
Anita Smith	...	Lisa (as Anita Cerdic)
Tommy Dysart	...	Mr. Graham
Mike Bishop	...	Dazey's Father
Nick Polites	...	Paul Secchi's Boy (as Nicholas Polites)
Felix Biviano	...	Paul Secchi's Boy
Ed McShortall	...	Ted (as Eddy McShortall)
Peter Houghton	...	Thomas

Storyline

Psycho Joe, a petrol-head from Altona, Melbourne, secures employment at a local Supermarket. Here, he meets the over-sexed Dazey. Joe and Dazey form a friendship based on a mutual interest in old hot cars. Joe also forms a relationship with a Satanic fellow employee. The nihilism of these young characters, coupled with parental disputes, leads to various tragedies.

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Plot Keywords:

nihilism | tragedy | race car | car crash | violence | 

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Taglines:

Everything is about to go totally out of control

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 1995 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Metalliko derma

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daniel Scharf Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jane Usher edited most of the film whilst Bill Murphy only edited the final nail biting car chase. The difference in styles in alarmingly striking and genuinely added fuel to the high octane film.

User Reviews

Powerful use of Arthurian themes in a modern setting

Essentially a re-setting of the Arthurian stories in the context of an Australian subculture of lost, dope-addled car-obsessed young males, this is a compelling and disturbing look at how empty, disconnected lives can become focused on an arbitrary quest in order to find meaning. Cars playing 'chicken' substitutes for jousting, the quest for the ultimate turbo charger replaces the Holy Grail, a spell-casting bogan witch girl takes the role of Morgan Le Fay. The title probably comes from the line in John Boorman's equally bizarre Arthurian movie "Excalibur" - When Arthur questions whether Lancelot should leave his lands and people to serve him, Lancelot points to his armour and says "I gave up my castles, and my lands - my domain is here, inside this metal skin". Similarly the characters here are totally cut off from their families and any other human emotional connection, they carry their entire world around inside the metal skins of their cars.