Knives and Skin review: A young girl’s disappearance throws a small town into turmoil in Fantasia selection Knives and Skin.
Image Courtesy of Fantasia Festival
Written and directed by Jennifer Reeder, Knives and Skin is a tricky film to describe. Set in a Mid-Western American town, the film opens with young girl Carolyn being ditched at make-out point by the school jock. After she fails to make it home, her mother begins a desperate search for her as the rest of the town try to adjust to her disappearance. We follow various townsfolk and classmates as their lives slowly begin to unravel.
The full story is a little hard to pin down as Reeder jumps from one character to the next, never really giving the viewer time to fully understand who is who. It plays out as if the viewer were merely a fly on the wall, flitting from one person to the next but never really settling on any one thing. This makes for rather confusing viewing, and with no enforced narrative or main character to follow, one can easily become lost. Knives and Skin is a film that requires your absolute focus, but even then you may be rather puzzled by the time the end credits roll.
At times it feels like the movie might be trying too hard, and at other moments like it couldn’t care less. It’s an odd mixture of dynamics, one that leaves the viewer a little confused. There are many out there that will immediately click with the strange tone and kooky vibe, but personally I landed more on the bewildered side than bewitched.
What no one can argue though is that Knives and Skin is a beautiful film to look at. The colour palette features strong blue tones, reinforcing the numbness felt by our cast of characters. Amongst those characters we have some very distinctive make-up and costuming that elevate it above typical teen fodder. There’s also a cross-fade device used throughout the film, one that layers faces of different characters over the tops of each other. It’s a vivid and striking technique, one that gets used maybe a time too many, but overall it adds an elegance to the visuals. The soundtrack is also super cool. Carolyn’s mother works as a singing teacher at the school and we are treated to several choral sequences. Songs featured include ‘Our Lips are Sealed’, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun‘, ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘You Make Me Melt’, all getting the acapella treatment.
Given its strange narrative direction, Knives and Skin is a film that some will hate and many will love. On a personal level, this film wasn’t for me. At times it almost strays into an art-house version of The Room, but there’s no denying that this is a stylish, visually pleasing movie.
Knives and Skin was reviewed at Fantasia 2019.
