62
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyA tragic, enraging, and uplifting tale.
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerInherently dramatic but needed a stronger director than Anthony Fabian, who overdoes understatement.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe fact that it's actually based on a true story adds an extra layer of poignancy, heightened further by another superb Sophie Okonedo performance.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyOne of the more bizarre illustrations of racial injustice under apartheid is dramatized in Skin.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceThis workmanlike, but enormously moving, movie makes the case that apartheid really does control her life, even her decision to rebel and get involved with a black man.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierA little more variation in the script, though, might have yielded something truly great.
- 50The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisAlas, Mr. Fabian, directing his first feature-length fiction film, uses a club whenever a feather would do. He also mishandles the actors, in particular Mr. Neill and Ms. Okonedo, both of whom have been incomparably better elsewhere.
- 50Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyToo many of the characters are either good or bad, and that loss of nuance is missed.
- 50New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe direction is never more than conventional, with a tear-inducing finale better suited to a TV soap opera.
- 40Time OutTime OutThe story is too rich in incident for Fabian, whose episodic TV-movie approach speeds through Laing’s lifetime of abuse.