Mental Health has been a common
theme running through film history. There are films about the heroes
overcoming their issues, like Harrison Ford re-learning how to live his
life after brain damage in Regarding
Henry, or Jack Nicolson steeling the nerves of all the ‘bull goose
loonies’ to rise up against Nurse Ratchett
in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It is a source of comedy, from
Steve Martin’s Rupreck creation in Dirty
Rotten Scoundrels, or the despicable (and painfully unfunny) Johnny
Knoxville vehicle The Ringer.
And there are countless villains throughout horror slasher movies, from
Italian 70s giallos toomodern day lazy Hollywood remakes, whose killing
spree turns out to be merely a symptom of their murderous madness.
Then, we have films like Comforting
Skin, which at its very heart, is a study on mental illness, and how
one person sinks into the depths of where it can take you.
The film begins with us being
introduced to Koffee and Nathan, two friends who share an apartment
together platonically, and their ‘aging party girl’ neighbour Synthia.
As they spikily riff off each other in the café near their building, one
would be forgiven for assuming they were about to watch a more edgier
version of Friends. The trio have good chemistry throughout, thanks in no small
part to stellar acting performances.
However, we soon learn, that to
varying degrees, they are suffering from mental health issues. Koffee has
been to rehab already, and has crippling esteem issues, not helped by a
recent break up. We also see early on in the film that she is a self
harmer. All this aside though, she is the self appointed sponsor to help
her best friend Nathan through his OCD. Synthia’s story is given less
attention, but we find out later she is also struggles with esteem,
leading to violence.
On a whim, Koffee gets a tattoo on
the way home from work (a ‘tramp stamp’ as the laconic Nathan calls
it), and at first it appears to raise her spirits. The tattoo comes to
life, and with the help of CGI, crawls across Koffee’s skin, talking to
her in her own voice. After initial shock and horror, Koffee’s tattoo
becomes a friend, then a lover, then a jealous, constraining partner.
Nathan, Synthia and the tattoo vie for Koffee’s attention, until the
bloody conclusion.
An interesting choice Franson has
made in this film is that at no point are we really asked to believe the
tattoo is anything other than a voice inside the character’s head. There
could have been a mystical, enchanted sequence with the tattooist, leading
to a big reveal at the end, but the film is the better without it. How
often is the viewer left
feeling cheated when they learn that 90% of the story has been a dream, as
though the script writer ran out of ideas, or the producer ran out of
money? This is certainly not what the director is trying to achieve here
anyway [also see
here], the
living tattoo was a very secondary idea to the story of a girl’s decent
into madness. Bravo I say. Keep Bobby out of the shower.
Victoria Bidewell’s performance
as the damaged protagonist here is terrific. She goes from being really
likeable and kooky to destroying herself by degrees. She should pick up
some awards in the various festivals the film is entered in.
A film like this will not appeal
to the mass multiplex market, and it is not aimed at them. A film about
crumbling mental health is bound to be unremittingly grim. The
backdrop of industrial small town Canada is a perfect spot to paint this
picture, and the characters’ vast, sparse apartments no doubt reflect
their lost and lonely natures. There are moments of brevity, mainly
provided by the banter of the three neighbours, and Koffee trying to
suppress the tattoo giving her an orgasm in the lift is particularly
amusing, but for the most part, the filmmakers and the cast succeed in
serving up depressing scenes. As I say, this is the intention, but it can
become galling, especially with the unending screech of the violin and
piano, which accompanies the troubles throughout the movie. It certainly
makes the viewer feel uncomfortable, but we could do with a bit more
relief!
So,
what I initially envisaged would be a new body horror turned out to be
nothing of the sort. The three central actors ensure that this film is
never boring, as Koffee is bullied by the voices in her head to her bleak
fate. Feel good date movie it ain’t, but definitely a chin scratcher. It
will be interesting to see where Franson’s discoveries take us next.
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