In My Skin

Trailer: https://bit.ly/3slXasx

It's on Hulu.

Unlike music, you can't get all visual content in a single place for one low price. Instead, you have to subscribe to umpteen services, which nobody does. In truth streaming is a better model than cable, because subscribers don't have to subsidize marginal channels with their money, and can pay just for what they want, but the end result has been Balkanization, to the detriment of creators and viewers.

That's right. Tell a TV producer they can be paid if they don't make the show and that is almost never satisfying, they want to see their project on the screen. But what if it's made and most people don't even have the opportunity to see it, never mind choose to.

Which is why things are so much better in music. It's all there, you can get the history of music for one low price, and what do the creators do...BITCH! They want a controlled system like the old one, based on overpriced CDs made by very few people. Now they've been let in the door and want to make the old money, even though in the new model it comes down to how many people are listening. And there's the thought that a million plays should be equal to x amount of money which makes no sense whatsoever, that's like judging the energy efficiency of an internal combustion engine by comparing it to the motor in an electric car. The paradigm has changed, it's impossible for a gasoline engine to have the efficiency/MPG of an electric one. Which is why the entire industry is moving to electric. You're screwed if your business model is based on the internal combustion engine. The public wants better mileage. Should Ford and GM be allowed to live in the past? So far, Tesla has been eating their lunch with a clean slate emphasizing software, you don't see traditional car companies complaining that we must go back to the old model.

Which is all to say most people will never watch "In My Skin," because most people don't have access to Hulu.

So a person needs access, and then there must be desire. With a cornucopia of programming, the individual must CHOOSE to watch "In My Skin." What are the odds this English program can compete with the ballyhooed "Mandalorian" or "Tiger King" or "Squid Game"? Very low.

It's even worse in indie film. Every week tons of new pictures arrive, and go unseen. You mean I have to troop out to the theatre and waste all that time and money to see ONE FILM? Indie film belongs on streaming services. Day and date. Then it could regain some impact, but the makers refuse to do this. ALSO, streaming platforms cannot digest all this material, unlike in streaming music, so certain indies will be left out completely, will go unseen, irrelevant of their merits, unless people are willing to overpay, even on on demand streaming. No, you must be on one of the big streaming platforms or you might as well not exist.

So "In My Skin" is a BBC program, consisting of two five episode seasons, released in 2018 and 2021. It's shot in Wales, so the accents can be hard to decipher, especially that of the main character, Bethan, so I advise keeping the subtitles on.

And "In My Skin" is not a theme park ride. Unless you consider everyday adolescent experience to be one.

You see Bethan's father is an alcoholic, her mother is mentally ill, and Bethan oftentimes has to act like the adult of the family, all while trying to navigate her regular school and friend life. For those of us who grew up in a stable two parent family it's quite an eye-opener, we read about this stuff but rarely experience it.

Not that "In My Skin" is a documentary, anything but. What you've got is a high school. How do you navigate high school? And what is the number one criterion of secondary school navigation? POPULARITY! Popularity trumps everything. Any smart kid will trade grades for popularity. And Bethan has friends, but they're outsiders, and live up to the image, they don't want to be part of the mainstream...but secretly Bethan does. And when she gets the chance... You've been there, you're PINCHING yourself. Smiling on the inside as you do your best not to screw up, savoring the moment, hoping it will last.

And what is your future path when your parents are out to lunch?

You're rooting for Bethan to go to college, but she's influenced by a friend, friends have so much power when you're a teenager.

And there's anger, and revenge. And issues of friendship, what do you owe your friends, does it trump your own desires?

"In My Skin" is not "The Sopranos," riveting from the very first moment, you're not always on the edge of your seat. But life is not like that either. Not that "In My Skin" is ever slow. Yet there are moments of gravitas that will bring tears to your eyes, and you will not feel manipulated.

Are you skinny enough? After popularity comes appearance. And Bethan isn't stick thin and internalizes this, even though she looks fine to most people. But the standards of high school are unforgiving.

Gabrielle Creevy as Bethan is a ten, you think she's really the character.

As for her mother...Jo Hartley is stupendous. In America, this is a plum role for a slumming Nicole Kidman or Charlize Theron, you know, beauties who are looking for serious roles to win awards and burnish their image. But Hartley is not a model, she's just normal. But she emerges to become three dimensional. You see people on screen and you think you want to be with them, but you've got no idea who they really are. And in truth beauty is one small factor in the overall mix, and becomes less important once you're in a relationship.

As for Di Botcher, the grandmother... That generation is always portrayed as warm and fuzzy, sans edges, but in reality they're just grown up people, and based on class and education they might be little more than adolescents. Botcher is warm, but her language is so base, so unfettered, that it's refreshing and revelatory, this is a real person!

"In My Skin" is a private experience. It's not a tentpole picture you want to see in a full theatre. It's personal. You watch it and get caught up, identify, it's like the best art, it reflects humanity, makes you feel more human yourself.

I heartily recommend it.

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