Under My Skin (I) (2020) User Reviews

Authentic

[katherine_hamilton · 10/10 · 16 August 2021]

Saw this in Sydney. So great to finally see a film with non binary/trans characters that feels authentic. Three actors as Deny were great!

Great movie

[sodonnell-92686 · 10/10 · 21 August 2021]

Great movie - wonderful to see Australian actors, writers and directors tackling such an important issue. Should have been released in mainstream cinemas.

So important

[jodiebecker · 10/10 · 27 August 2021]

This film is beautiful and heart breaking and joyful - all in one. It will revisit you over and over and you will tell people about because it will haunt you in a way you can't articulate. The most poignant part is how Ryan looks at Dan - he never skips a beat. The connection between them was palpable no matter which iteration of the character appears. Alex Russell has always shone on screen but he is particularly magnetic in this role. Well done. To everyone involved.

A Brilliant Film

[ladymidath · 10/10 · 25 September 2021]

Australian films are very good at tackling various subjects and getting them right without the pointless conflict and drama that so many filmmakers seem to think they need to keep their audience interested and engaged. Australian filmmakers excel at quieter films that tell a compelling story without the histrionics and pointless conflict. Under My Skin is one such movie, a story about someone who is non binary which is told in an honest and authentic way.

Watch it if you enjoy deep and intelligent filmmaking.

Sensitive and raw

[Markpwills · 10/10 · 15 June 2023]

A very sensitive and original take on a trans/non binary story that I found utterly compelling and fresh to watch.

Great to see new and innovative ways these types of stories can be told in a market that seems close to being over-saturated in them. David does a good job in staying away from tropes and approaches that we've seen in movies of this genre before. I particularly liked his use of 4 actors to play one character; a unique way to explore identity and the dissonance between inner and outer experiences of a body that one isn't connecting with.

David is a rising voice to watch and I look forward to what films has to offer next.

Under My Skin was deeply unsatisfying

[htf130 · 9/10 · 17 June 2023]

Under My Skin was deeply unsatisfying. It felt like they were trying to say something by having the interchangeable white men at the beginning but it just...it felt like you were supposed to cast yourself as the (unsympathetic) make lead. And Den's arc is a great one, and it could have been a great movie. "This isn't working because of how you're changing" is valid, but it felt like watching a two-hour breakup.

The multiple non-binary actors as Den was cool. On the whole it felt like it was meant to be a 2021 Liv vehicle, and in 2023 they don't need that.

Also, there's a scene of Liv! Den pulling at their chest that's really good, but also made me uncomfortable given they no longer have boobs.

For a film about gender or a love story, it felt somewhere between "manic pixie dream enby" and "honestly a female love interest for Den could have improved this movie."

Basically-Liv is amazing! Other Dennys were great. It felt like their was too much conflict for the relationship to work. Like if Den were, idk, an accountant and the lifestyle/class piece were removed it might have worked. Or if Ryan were a woman.

There was something fundamentally uncomfortable with them as sexual romantic partners from the beginning-I'm gay so I might be reading this wrong but it felt as if Denny was there for a queer time and Ryan was there for a straight time.