Directed by
Anthony Fabian
107 minutes
Rated M
Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
Skin
Synopsis: In 1955 white Afrikaans couple, Sannie Laing (Alice Krige) and her husband, Abraham (Sam Neill), gave birth to their second child Sandra (Ella Ramangwane plays the young Sandra and Sophie Okonedo plays her from about 17 to adulthood.) The child had black features but was classified white and the parents brought her up and perceived her as white. At the age of 11 Sandra is enrolled in white boarding school from where she is expelled for being black. Her father fights to have her reclassified white. As Sandra grows up she finds herself more comfortable in black company, and soon runs off with a local boy, Petrus (Tony Kgoroge) to whom she is pregnant. Her life will be a constant battle as she comes to terms with her parents and where she belongs in this troubled society.The idea of being black in a white family, who keep asserting you are white, then turn on you because you choose a black man, borders on the unbelievable but before you get all excited and argue that the scenario is not possible, Skin is based on a true story (at the end of the film we see pictures of the real Sandra Laing), one that fascinated and shocked South Africa in the 1970s. A segment in the film dealing with genetics explains that dormant genes can lie lurking for generations then emerge in one child as a “throwback” with polygenic inheritance. .
Skin is powerful movie making, first because of the strength of the story, but also because of the fine acting and the highly personal viewpoint of apartheid, a subject which often dealt with in a more historical context. Sam Neill is exceptionally powerful as Abraham, as is Krige as his wife, Alice, staunch apartheid supporters unable to accept that their daughter as black despite loving her deeply.
Both actresses playing Sandra also give superb and moving performances. Okonedo manages to seamlessly portray a wide age range, and we are with her every inch of the way as she fights her way through a minefield of racism and misfortune. When we see the young Sandra burn her skin with a mixture of chemicals she hopes will lighten her appearance, the horrific truth of such an evil system is hammered home. Scenes of Sandra adjusting to her life in a shanty town are all the more moving, knowing the privileged background she has come from and seeing the way fellow blacks working for the whites are employed to bulldoze those shanty towns are just gut-wrenching.
Whether you do or don’t accept the parents’ motivations and reactions, Skin is compelling viewing and a truly fascinating story of a brave woman living through one of the very darkest times of recent history.
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