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Released by: Film Movement
Released on: November 26th, 2024.
Director: Philip Ridley
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper
Year: 1990
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The Reflecting Skin – Movie Review:
Set in a small town in Idaho in the 1950s, Philip Ridley’s 1990 film, The Reflecting Skin, introduces us to an eight-year-old boy named Seth Dove (Jeremy Cooper) who, along with his pals, plays a trick on Dolphin Blue (Lindsay Duncan), a reclusive English woman who very few in the area seem to know much about, save for the fact that she is a widow. Seth’s home life is less than perfect, and his mother, Ruth (Sheila Moore), might be insane. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone in the area, a gang of greasers in a black Cadillac are roaming the area abducting kids and leaving their lifeless bodies strategically placed around town.
Some time later, Seth’s father, Luke (Duncan Foster), tells the boy a story about vampires which puts an idea in the young boy’s head – he comes to the conclusion that Ms. Blue must be a vampire and that she’s out to steal the souls of all of the kids in the area – why else would all of his friends suddenly disappear the way they have recently? When Seth’s older brother, a soldier named Cameron (Viggo Mortensen), returns home after his latest tour of duty, he and Dolphin hit it off and soon develop an unusual romance, causing Seth to go to extreme efforts to save his brother from a woman that he sincerely believes to a very real threat.
A nightmarish narrative set against a beautifully shot backdrop of American farmland, The Reflecting Skin takes viewers into some seriously dark and twisted territory as its narrative weaves a compelling story that keeps us interested from start to finish. Often times compared to David Lynch’s Bluer Velvet (which is apt, but don’t think for a minute that Ridley, who also wrote the film’s script, is aping Lynch here as he very much does his own thing with this film), the movie explores the ideas of childhood imagination run wild, twisted family dynamics, the unreliability of the human memory and mankind’s penchant for violence all at the same time, making for a remarkably well-told tale and a damn fine ninety-six minutes of twisted entertainment that frequently makes use of some very darkly comedic elements.
The film benefits from an excellent cast. Viggo Mortensen is excellent as Seth’s older brother, concerned about the kid but not about to let him ruin what he thinks is a good thing he has going with the widow, while Lindsay Duncan does a great job as said widow, creating a quirky, unusual character with her performance and turning Dolphin Blue into someone we want to know more about. Sheila Moore takes things dangerously close into overacting territory but never quite goes there, she seems to know when to not cross that line and, as such, her work here is very intense, and she plays Seth’s insane mother very well. Likewise, Duncan Foster plays the boy’s troubled father in a very believable manner. As to Jeremy Cooper himself, in an industry where child actors tend to be terrible, he proves that it doesn’t always have to be the case as he turns Seth into an interesting and likeable character that we don’t mind spending time with.
Add to all of this some absolutely stunning cinematography from Dick Pope and a great score from Nick Bicât and The Reflecting Skin turns out to be a legitimate gem of underappreciated nineties indie filmmaking.
The Reflecting Skin – Blu-ray Review:
The Reflecting Skin arrives on Blu-ray from Film Movement in an AVC encoded 1080p high-definition presentation framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. This is a nice transfer in many regards but it’s a bit waxy, indicating that some digital noise reduction may have been used to smooth things over a little more aggressively than some will like. On the plus side, there isn't much in the way of actual print damage to complain about at all and the image is very clean. Some scenes do offer solid depth and detail as well and we get very good color reproduction throughout (just keep in mind that the colors in the image are intentionally oversaturated). There isn’t any obvious compression issues nor are there any edge enhancement problems to note. Not a perfect, reference quality image but the movie looks decent here.
The English language 24-bit LPCM 2.0 Stereo mix has good depth and range, especially when it comes to the soundtrack, which is spread around quite effectively through the two channels in the mix. The levels are nicely balanced and dialogue sounds quite clean and clear throughout the movie. There are no issues with any hiss or distortion and, while this is a fairly dialogue heavy film and not one loaded with effects-heavy set pieces, the audio here gets a nice boost over the DVD as well.
A director's commentary with writer/director Philip Ridley starts off the extra features and covers his background, where the ideas for the movie came from, why it’s located where it’s set, some of the more challenging shots that were needed for the film, props and wardrobe needed for the feature, casting the film and thoughts on the performances as well as what the various actors were like to work with, what was shot on location versus what was shot in a studio, the effect of time restraints on the finished film, some of the themes that the movie explores, how the film isn’t about realism but about memory, the significance of some of the visuals in the movie and lots more.
Angels & Atom Bombs: The Making Of The Reflecting Skin is a forty-four minute featurette that lets Ridley talk about the divisive nature of the story that the movie tells, his painting and art scene work is covered as is, how he got into filmmaking, where he got the idea for The Reflecting Skin from, casting the picture, thoughts on the cinematography and the importance of capturing the landscape properly, some of the challenges that arose during the making of the movie, wardrobe choices, some of the more controversial aspects of the story and lots more. Mortensen is also interviewed here, talking about his experiences on the picture, as is cinematographer Dick Pope, both of whom speak quite fondly about having had the opportunity to work on the film.
The disc also has a trailer for the feature as well as trailers for The Quiet Earth, Kamikaze ‘89 and All About Lily Chou-Chou in addition to menus and chapter selection options.
Included inside the clear keepcase alongside the disc is a full-color booklet containing a new essay by film writers Travis Crawford and Heather Hyche titled ‘Innocence Can Be Hell: The Reflecting Skin And The Horrors Of Childhood’ as well as notes on the restoration from Ridley, cast and crew credits and a chapter listing.
The Reflecting Skin - The Final Word:
The Reflecting Skin is a great movie full of excellent performances, intriguing characters and gorgeous visuals. As its script takes us into some very dark places, we can’t help but become involved in Seth’s plight and Ridley’s expert direction ensures we’re hooked. The Blu-ray release from Film Movement looks decent and sounds very good and if it isn’t loaded to the gills with extras, the commentary and documentary do a great job of exploring how the film came to be and the experiences of those who worked on it. Highly recommended.
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized The Reflecting Skin Blu-ray screen caps!
