Fantasia '19 Film Review - Knives & Skin

Caroline (Raven Whitley) dressed proudly in her marching band school uniform is out by the lake with jock Andy (Ty Olwin). She is concerned about her new glasses as Andy makes his advances. When she rebuffs him demanding that he take her home he leaves her stranded; Caroline does not make it home. The ripples of her disappearance brings out the quirk in an already offbeat small Illinois town. The most affected is Caroline's mother Mrs. Harper (Marika Englehart) who is the choir teacher at the school where Carolyn and her friends attend. As she spirals downward her students sing in  pop songs from the Go Go's to Cindi Lauper in layered multi-part harmony as they whisper to each other the truly disturbing thoughts that most teens have in their minds bubbling under the surface.

Caroline's three main friends and bandmates form the core of the film. Joanne Andy's sister makes cash on the side selling underwear to teachers. Cheerleader Laurel (Kayla Carter) whose dad Doug (James Vincent Meredith) is the police chief quietly pursues her crush on a fellow female student. Charlotte (Ireon Roach) whose a Grace Jones type performance artist wears tribal face paint in class and turns every presentation in class into a theatre event. Their parents are no less dull, in and out of each other's beds looking for a connection they cannot find at home.

Director Jennifer Reeder's film will draw immediate comparisons to Twin Peaks and other provocative Hight School dramas such as Heathers. The rich soundtrack sets the dreamlike atmosphere plus the peculiar behavior of the adults invoke the Lynchian comparison. However, Reeder's narrative is more about inclusivity and the need for females to stick together being cruel if need be as the writer-director screams verbally and an overt act by Kayla Carter's Laurel demonstrates specifically that boys often don't treat girls very well.

Knives and Skin loses its way at some points but the overall narrative is one that is empowering to females and outsiders alike who feel like they don't fit in are bullied or demeaned by the entitled class. Be yourself, develop a hard edge and support fiercely those that will do the same for you. The young cast of relative unknowns do not make a wrong step in a piece from a rising voice in film.

**1/2 Out of 4.

Knives and Skin | Jennifer Reeder | U.S.A.| 111 Minutes.

Tags: High School, Disappearance, Marching Band,Glasses, Choir, Football, Mascot, Sad Clown, 80's New Wave, Letter Jacket, Mustang.