Second Skin

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Film: B-

 

 

Director Gerardo Vera takes on a still somewhat taboo subject in Second Skin.  A man has an affair without his wife knowing it, except it happens to be with another man.  Javier Bardem, who was Academy Award nominated for Best Actor in Before Night Falls plays a surgeon who is the other man without knowing it.  Alberto (Jordi Molia) is the married man who is lying to the wife (Adriana Gill) he believes he loves, yet he also loves Diego (Bardem).

 

Between the music and some of the story structure, this is more melodramatic than one might expect for this day and age.  Immediate comparison to the remarkable Todd Haynes’ film Far From Heaven (2002) are fair, though that film seems to be smarter (while just playing dumb) about the same kind of situation.  However, the actors here rise above the material, with director Vega possibly being a help here.

 

This, despite the fact that the copy on the DVD is unrated.  Except for Miss Gill’s bare chest and some male nudity, this is hardly X-rated material.  However, since no one is trying to stab, mutilate or otherwise kill anyone, they missed out on a potential R!  A sad statement about mature, intelligent filmmaking today by bizarre ratings standards.  Any sex, by the way, is tame by today’s explicit standards.

 

The picture quality is odd, since the credits and trailer are in 2.35 X 1 scope, while the rest of the film is in 16 X 9 (1.78 X 1) widescreen television aspect ratio.  The film itself is even anamorphically-enhanced, but the picture does not benefit as much as it should.  Definition and clarity look a bit washed out, which may possibly come from an already strained Super 35 for scope print being blown-up further.  Color is a bit washed out, while depth is limited, though looks like it wants to be deeper.  Did cinematographer Julio Madurga, A.E.C., really want this look?

 

The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surround, even though a surround does not register on the receiver’s configuration meter.  The credits dub it Dolby Digital, but the mix is 4.0 matrix all the way.  It sounds naturalistic, while dialogue is not trapped in the center channel too much.  The music by Roque Banos sounds good, even if it lands up being unintentionally funny often.

 

Despite misgivings, the film manages to have some genuine moments that help it, so it’s worth a look if you happen to be interested.

 

 

- Nicholas Sheffo