The Skin I Live In

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The Skin I Live In

R

Released Oct 14, 2011

2h 0m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

179 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Ever since his beloved wife was horribly burned in an auto accident, Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a skilled plastic surgeon, has tried to develop a new skin that could save the lives of burn victims. Finally, after 12 years, Ledgard has created a skin that guards the body, but is still sensitive to touch. With the aid of his faithful housekeeper (Marisa Paredes), Ledgard tests his creation on Vera (Elena Anaya), who is held prisoner against her will in the doctor's mansion.

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Critics Consensus

The Skin I Live In lacks Almodovar's famously charged romance, replaced with a wonderfully bizarre and unpredictable detour into arthouse ick.

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Gabrielle Rivera

Autostraddle

Banderas settles into the dark character of Dr. Ledgard with a stillness and apparent ease that gave me the chills I left the movie theater wondering if it worth it.

Jun 11, 2021

Full Review

José Teodoro

Film Comment Magazine

Almodóvar has a body of work as rigorously personal as any out there, and, even with its flaws, he wears this latest Skin rather well.

Nov 5, 2013

Full Review

Nicolas Rapold

Film Comment Magazine

Despite the typically invigorating sense of line and framing, The Skin I Live In withholds the director's customary satisfactions and affirmations. The result is a saga of obsession that, in its saturnine undertone, maintains a hard-to-enjoy integrity.

Jul 1, 2013

Full Review

Bianca Garner

Filmotomy

Banderas’ Ledgard is charismatic, sinister and full of deep rooted rage. Banderas’ performance is very remisicitant of Cary Grant in Suspicion (1941), but our suspicions of Ledgard is very much justified in The Skin I Live In.

Oct 4, 2024

Full Review

Michael Leader

Den of Geek

Alberto Iglesias' astounding score is a diverse work, taking in a wide array of tones and arrangements, shifting from high tension string sections, to electronic backbeats, from guitar drones to moody saxophone.

Rated: 4/5

May 7, 2024

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

The closest Almodóvar has come to making a horror film, The Skin I Live In is a deeply uncomfortable yet fascinating puzzle box of a film.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 27, 2024

Full Review

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Dionisis T

Disturbing and not in a good and joyful kind of way...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

Full Review

Audience Member

O enredo tece em curvas não lineares uma obra de arte das mais impressionantes. É uma alta voltagem ao redor do belo, do repulsivo, estético, moralmente questionável e controverso. As interpretações são gloriosas. A sensação de surpresa não é tão grande, falta sutileza. Mas a de espanto é insuperável.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

Katherine M

I made an account just to give this movie 1 star. The first hour is strictly dedicated to the GRAPHIC trauma suffered by the female characters in the most grotesque and least subtle way. Almodóvar describes it as a “horror movie” but it’s simply an exploitation of women and the worst possible things that can happen to us. This is not art it’s trauma p*rn

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

Full Review

Ricardo W

Qué extraño conflicto: para calificar esta película estuve oscilando entre "Se puede ver, pudo ser mejor" y "Hay que verla!". Pero creo firmemente que sólo un gran director puede ser capaz de hacer una película tan obligante, bien hecha y fascinante con un guión tan innecesariamente rebuscado y retorcido. De esta manera, desde un punto de vista muy formal y aunque el producto final no me haya encantado, debo admitir que es una obra digna de toda recomendación. Es su estilo, no cabe duda, pero a ratos parece que se le va la mano. Ya lo habíamos visto en Los Abrazos Rotos: excesivo melodrama que termina pintando con brochazos de telenovela lo que pudo haber sido una historia mucho más interesante y oscura. Personajes de construcción intensa desarrollados tan someramente que no terminan de cuajar o resultar creíbles. Como remate, Antonio Banderas no logró lo que Penélope Cruz: demostrar que sabe actuar si lo hace bajo la tutela de su cuasi-padre. Se quedó a medias, ganaron los muchos años de roles mediocres. Sin embargo, la historia es envolvente, y la dirección, como es de esperar, tiene una precisión alucinante. Es un film hermosamente hecho, delicadamente perverso, visualmente sólido y, por encima de todo, cautivador. El ritmo no decae, y el espectador entra inevitablemente en una especie de trance voyeurista que le impide apartar la mirada aunque sepa que lo que viene tal vez no lo quiera ver. Esa es la rúbrica de Almodóvar, y en ese sentido el film logra su cometido de manera eficiente. Su estilo es inconfundible y es un gusto verlo consolidar sus elementos característicos con pulso firme. Es interesante igualmente verlo coquetear con el género de suspenso, bien puede subirle el volúmen con confianza en ocasiones futuras, porque le calza maravillosamente.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

Full Review

Prabudhjeet A

A totally different revenge movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/22/24

Full Review

Cat K

Thematically and morally confused, and character motivations are implausible and absurd. The big plot twist is predictable. If you want someone to try making you sympathize with creepy rapists, give this one a try.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/10/24

Full Review

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Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Antonio Banderas

Dr. Robert Ledgard

Elena Anaya

Vera

Marisa Paredes

Marilia

Jan Cornet

Vicente

Roberto Álamo

Zeca

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Synopsis

Ever since his beloved wife was horribly burned in an auto accident, Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a skilled plastic surgeon, has tried to develop a new skin that could save the lives of burn victims. Finally, after 12 years, Ledgard has created a skin that guards the body, but is still sensitive to touch. With the aid of his faithful housekeeper (Marisa Paredes), Ledgard tests his creation on Vera (Elena Anaya), who is held prisoner against her will in the doctor's mansion.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: El Deseo S.A., FilmNation, Canal+ España
Rating: R (Drug Use|Disturbing Violent Content|Strong Sexuality|Graphic Nudity|Language|Sexual Assault)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 10, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.2M
Runtime: 2h 0m

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