Skin (2018)

Directed by: Guy Nattiv | 120 minutes | biography, crime | Actors: Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Daniel Henshall, Bill Camp, Louisa Krause, Zoe Margaret Colletti, Kylie Rogers, Colbi Gannett, Mike Colter, Vera Farmiga, Mary Stuart Masterson, Russell Posner, Jenna Leigh Green, Sean Cullen, Jaime Ray Newman , Portia, Scott Thomas, Ari Barkan, Justin L. Wilson

Anyone who claims that people can’t change or don’t deserve a second chance should have a word with Bryon Widner. For sixteen years, the American was part of far-right groups in the midwestern United States. He was even one of the founders of the Vinlanders Social Club, a racist movement in Indiana that did not shy away from using extreme violence. Widner, nicknamed “Pitbull,” had his body and face tattooed with far-right symbols and lyrics, an act he would regret when his conscience started to gnaw. The cause: love. But you don’t just pry yourself free from such a club, Widner experienced that firsthand when he made his final decision to turn his back on his racist ‘family’. The life story of Widner, who even managed to get the anti-racism activist Daryle Lamont Jenkins to his side, reads like a thrilling book. No wonder a filmmaker – in this case the Israeli Guy Nattiv – stood up to film his story. Jamie Bell, the Brit who broke through in 2000 with ‘Billy Elliot’ and since then has shown his versatility with various film roles. The first time Bell and Widner spoke was on August 12, 2017, the day the far-right ‘Unite the Right’ march took place in Charlottesville. According to the actor, the phone call was short, because Widner was concerned whether Jenkins – who was involved in a counter-protest in the same Charlottesville – was okay.

‘Skin’ (2018) is Nattiv’s first American film. Extremist acts and hate crime are the order of the day. With his film, Nattiv tries to outline the reasons behind such behaviour. Why do groups like Vinlanders Social Club – the fastest growing far-right movement in the US at the time Widmer was there – have such an enormous appeal to (often vulnerable) young people? And why is it so hard to get rid of it again? An Israeli filmmaker trying to create an understanding of neo-Nazis; why not? Nattiv saw Bryon Widner in the documentary ‘Erasing Hate’ (2011) and has been filming his story ever since. The film is told from the present, in which we see Bryon Widmer (Jamie Bell) as he has to undergo all kinds of painful treatments and plastic surgery to have the many tattoos removed. The ink on and in his body prevents him from taking up a new life and leaving his past behind. The tattoos also make him easily recognizable for the people he prefers to avoid. In between operations, we see in flashbacks how he got to where he is now. Bryon was also a vulnerable boy, who fled his childhood home at a young age because he no longer tolerated living with his alcoholic and abusive parents. He is embraced by Fred Krager (Bill Camp) and his wife Shareen (Vera Farmiga), endearing surrogate parents who take care of the outcasts, the scum and the underprivileged. They not only give them food and a roof over their heads, but also introduce them to alcohol, drugs and extreme ideologies. Fred has political ambitions and needs an ‘army’ of skinheads to back them up. They certainly do not shy away from brutal violence and arson.

Right from the start we see that Bryon no longer feels at home in the ‘family’. At a Vinlanders Social Club demonstration, black anti-racism activist Daryle Jenkins (Mick Colter) discovers a glimmer of doubt and remorse in Bryon and decides to work on wresting him from the clutches of the far right. At the same time, Bryon gets to know Julie (Danielle Macdonald), a woman who has her own troubles. A past of violence that pushed her towards the Vinlanders is behind her: she does her utmost to be a good mother to her three daughters, so that they don’t have to endure the same as herself. Bryon and Julie find each other in their deep-seated desire to get out of the “family” and form their own family. But that sounds easier than it is; whether they move to another city or not, Fred and his associates know where to find them and they will do everything they can to get Bryon back. It is in this part of the film that Nattiv (also screenwriter) lets go of the true facts and makes events a bit thicker, but that Widner was threatened and that the extreme right club members proceeded (and went) to violent acts without hesitation.

‘Skin’ has a sober style. We know the theme from films like ‘American History X’ (1998) and ‘This is England’ (2006), so ‘Skin’ is not original. Nevertheless, Nattiv manages to turn it into a compelling, raw story, which relies heavily on the excellent acting performances. Bell in particular gives an intense performance that demands a lot from him both physically and emotionally. Bell shows how much he’s got and gets a great response from Danielle Macdonald (who already won us over with her role in ‘Patti Cake$’, 2017). But Camp and Farmiga are also doing well. We forgive him for letting Nattiv lose credibility in the last act – probably with the intention of making his film more spectacular and therefore more commercially attractive – but it was not necessary. Widmer’s own inspiring and hopeful story, certainly in Bell’s convincing interpretation, is powerful enough.