IN HER SKIN

     GUY PEARCE  MIRANDA OTTO  RUTH BRADLEY  SAM NEILL  KATE BELL

THE BARBERS (PEARCE AND OTTO) EXPERIENCE THEIR WORST NIGHTMARE WHEN THEIR 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER RACHEL (BELL) GOES MISSING.  WITHOUT GETTING MUCH HELP FROM THE POLICE, THE BARBERS SEARCH FOR THEIR DAUGHTER THEMSELVES, BUT NEVER FIND HER.  FINALLY, A MISSING PERSON POLICEMAN GETS INVOLVED, AND SOON THE INVESTIGATION IS FOCUSED ON CAROLINE REID (BRADLEY), A FORMER BABYSITTER FOR KATE AND ALSO A PERSON SUFFERING FROM MEDICAL AND MENTAL PROBLEMS.  THE POLICE ARE HELPED BY CAROLINE'S FATHER (NEILL), AND THE TRUTH IS FINALLY REVEALED.
THIS IS A DEPRESSING YET VERY POWERFUL MOVIE THAT IS MADE EVEN MORE STRONGER BY BEING BASED ON A TRUE STORY.  THE SADNESS COMES FROM THE DEATH OF KATE, THE FEELINGS OF LOSS AND HELPLESSNESS HER PARENTS EXPERIENCED, THE OBVIOUS AND VERY EASY TO SEE SEVERE MENTAL PROBLEMS OF CAROLINE THAT HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS IGNORED WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN HELP AND THE INABILITY OF CAROLINE'S FATHER TO SEEK HELP FOR HER, EVEN WHEN SHE LASHES OUT IN A VIOLENT ATTEMPT TO BE NOTICED, BECAUSE OF HIS SELF-INTEREST IN HIMSELF.  CAROLINE IS AN OVERWEIGHT AVERAGE LOOKING PERSON WHOSE PARENTS ARE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE.  KATE IS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN LIVING IN A FAMILY WHO LOVES EACH OTHER.  CAROLINE IS JEALOUS OF THAT, AND THAT JEALOUSLY ALONG WITH HER MENTAL ILLNESS SENDS HER INTO A RAGE THAT LEADS TO THE TRAGIC DEATH OF KATE.
THE POWER OF THIS MOVIE LIES IN THE PERFORMANCES OF PEARCE, OTTO AND ESPECIALLY BRADLEY.  IN WATCHING PEARCE AND OTTO AS THE BARBERS, YOU CAN SENSE ALL THAT THEY ARE FEELING AND WHAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING.  BUT, BRADLEY'S PORTRAYAL OF CAROLINE IS STUNNING AND TERRIFYING.  HER VIOLENT OUTBURSTS ARE INCREDIBLY REALISTIC AND HARD TO WATCH; IN THE OTHER SCENES, YOU CAN SEE THE SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS SHE HAS AND HOW SCARY THAT IS KNOWING WHAT SHE IS PLANNING TO DO.  ALSO, THERE ARE TWO OR THREE TIMES SHE BRAVELY GOES TO A PLACE THAT IS UNBELIEVABLY TRUE AND HEART WRENCHINGLY RAW.  YES, THIS MOVIE IS DIFFICULT TO WATCH, BUT YOU SHOULD WATCH IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
RATING  3.5 out of 5