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CONSENSUS
Though at times melodramatic, Skins' harsh depiction of life on the reservation is an eye-opener.
CAST & CREW
Eric Schweig, Graham Greene, Noah Watts
Directed by Chris Eyre
more...
SYNOPSIS
SKINS, based on the novel by Adrian C. Louis, is the impressive second feature of Native American director Chris Eyre (SMOKE SIGNALS). Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota reservation in South Dakota, SKINS tells the story of Rudy (Eric Schweig), a policeman, and his older brother Mogie (Graham Greene of THE GREEN MILE), a jobless alcoholic. more...
MPAA RATING
R, for language and violence
RUNTIME
1 hour, 34 minutes
RELEASE DATES
Theatrical: Sep 27, 2002
Video: Mar 25, 2003
RELEASE COMPANY
First Look
GENRE
Dramas, Police, Family Relations
OFFICIAL SITE
• The Official Skins Site
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PARENTS EVALUATION
TRAILER & MEDIA
TIDBITS
LINKS
SUBMIT/EDIT ARTICLE
SUBMIT USER REVIEW
FORUM
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 "Eyre is on his way to becoming the American Indian Spike Lee."
-- Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR
 "It lacks the compassion, good-natured humor and the level of insight that made [Eyre's] first film something of a sleeper success."
-- Jeff Vice, DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY
"Whatever Eyre’s failings as a dramatist, he deserves credit for bringing audiences into this hard and bitter place."
-- Rob Thomas, CAPITAL TIMES (MADISON, WI)
"There's a certain raggedness and preachiness to the picture, but ultimately its simplicity and basic integrity shine through and compensate for the flaws."
-- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY'S OPINION
"All-in-all, the film is an enjoyable and frankly told tale of a people who live among us, but not necessarily with us."
-- Dale Reynold, ZAP2IT.COM
"Director Chris Eyre is going through the paces again with his usual high melodramatic style of filmmaking."
-- Anthony Miele, FILM THREAT
"Thanks to strong performances by Schweig and Greene, the results are powerful and heartbreaking."
-- Sean Means, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
"Though the aboriginal aspect lends the ending an extraordinary poignancy, and the story itself could be played out in any working class community in the nation."
-- Philip Martin, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
"Although shot with little style, Skins is heartfelt and achingly real."
-- Moira MacDonald, SEATTLE TIMES
"Life on the rez is no picnic: this picture shows you why."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE
"Eyre ... portrays contemporary life on the reservation, laying bare the harsh realities of alcoholism, poverty and despair."
-- Maria Garcia, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"Greene delivers a typically solid performance in a role that is a bit of a departure from the noble characters he has played in the past, and he is matched by Schweig, who carries the film on his broad, handsome shoulders."
-- Annlee Ellingson, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"Eric Schweig and Graham Greene both exude an air of dignity that's perfect for the proud warrior that still lingers in the souls of these characters."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
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"'Like a child with an important message to tell...[Skins'] faults are easy to forgive because the intentions are lofty.'"
-- Anita Schmaltz, METRO TIMES
"Like Rudy Yellow Lodge, Eyre needs to take a good sweat to clarify his cinematic vision before his next creation and remember the lessons of the trickster spider."
-- John A. Nesbit, CULTUREDOSE.NET
"The film makes strong arguments regarding the social status of America's indigenous people, but really only exists to try to eke out an emotional tug of the heart, one which it fails to get."
-- Max Messier, FILMCRITIC.COM
"Like Smoke Signals, the film is also imbued with strong themes of familial ties and spirituality that are powerful and moving without stooping to base melodrama"
-- Brian Mckay, EFILMCRITIC.COM
"Rather quickly, the film falls into a soothing formula of brotherly conflict and reconciliation."
-- Paul Malcolm, L.A. WEEKLY
"It’s another video movie photographed like a film, with the bad lighting that’s often written off as indie film naturalism."
-- Jeremiah Kipp, MATINEE MAGAZINE
"It is an observant, humane portrait of a couple of fascinatingly complex characters."
-- Chris Hewitt, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"Works both as an engaging drama and an incisive look at the difficulties facing Native Americans."
-- Ken Fox, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE
"A film in a class with Spike Lee's masterful Do The Right Thing."
-- Curtis Edmonds, TXREVIEWS.COM
"Skins has a right to yawp, and we have a right to our grains of salt."
-- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL
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ROTTEN 56%
Avg. Rating: 6.5/10 |
"Skins has a desolate air, but Eyre, a Native American raised by white parents, manages to infuse the rocky path to sibling reconciliation with flashes of warmth and gentle humor."
-- Megan Turner, NEW YORK POST
"Although mainstream American movies tend to exploit the familiar, every once in a while a film arrives from the margin that gives viewers a chance to learn, to grow, to travel."
-- Susan Stark, DETROIT NEWS
"A mild, reluctant, thumbs down."
-- Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER
"For all its serious sense of purpose ... [it] finds a way to lay bare the tragedies of its setting with a good deal of warmth and humor."
-- Janice Page, BOSTON GLOBE
"What makes Skins compelling is how it opens our eyes to conditions on the reservation."
-- John Monaghan, DETROIT FREE PRESS
"Might have been better off as a documentary, with less of Mr. Eyre's uninspired dramatics and more of his sense of observation and outrage."
-- Dave Kehr, NEW YORK TIMES
"It bites hard."
-- Stephen Hunter, WASHINGTON POST
"Patchy combination of soap opera, low-tech magic realism and, at times, ploddingly sociological commentary."
-- Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST
"As social exposé, Skins has its heart in the right place, but that's not much to hang a soap opera on."
-- Mark Holcomb, VILLAGE VOICE
"Played by Graham Greene ... in one of the year's best performances, [Mogie's] a fully dimensional character."
-- Edward Guthmann, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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"This bold and cathartic drama deserves to be experienced by those who cherish intimate dramas about individuals struggling against all odds to practice love, compassion, and forgiveness."
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "Skins" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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mikecandance
| In my bedroom, you'll find: "Plates and cups from midnight snacking, taped episodes of the Golden Girls and a body pillow shaped like a catfish." |
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