Metal Skin

Last updated

Metal Skin
Metal Skin (1994) poster.jpg
Directed by Geoffrey Wright
Written byGeoffrey Wright
Produced byDaniel Scharf
Starring Aden Young
Tara Morice
Nadine Garner
Ben Mendelsohn
CinematographyRon Hagen
Edited byBill Murphy
Jane Usher
Music by John Clifford White
Distributed by Village Roadshow
Release dates
  • 14 September 1994 (1994-09-14)(Toronto International Film Festival)
  • 4 May 1995 (1995-05-04)(Australia)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Metal Skin is a 1994 Australian film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright, starring Aden Young, Tara Morice, Nadine Garner and Ben Mendelsohn. The film follows the lives of four adolescents in and around the blue-collar Melbourne suburb of Altona.

Contents

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1995, the album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album. [1]

Plot

Joe lives with his brain-damaged father in working-class Altona, suburban Melbourne. Joe has problems taking care of his father, as he is disruptive and dangerous due to his deteriorating mental health. A shy misfit whose great love is souped-up muscle cars, Joe gets a job at the supermarket where he is befriended by fellow car enthusiast Dazey, after walking in on him having sex in the break room. Dazey is a confident womaniser at a crossroads with his girlfriend, Roslyn, whom Joe has feelings for.

Dazey's brother is a Nascar driver and along with their father runs a car garage. Dazey gets parts for Joe from the family shop. Joe beats an attacker of Dazey's at the shop, a boyfriend of a woman he slept with.

Savina, a devil worshipper who works with Dazey and Joe, feigns interest in him to get closer to Dazey. Savina has been obsessed with Dazey since high school. She frequently engages in dark mysticism, such as animal sacrifice. The four of them go to street races and get drunk together.

Joe begins to have feelings for Savina. Savina and Dazey have sex which only fuels her obsession, although he has no intentions of it leading to anything else. Savina falls to her death at a church after becoming extremely depressed, saddening Joe as the two of them had started to fall in love with each other. Joe's house is vandalized, and Dazey deals with his own feelings if grief and guilt.

As Joe dreams of the dead Savina, he is awakened by his Pops banging on the ceiling. Joe freaks out and shoots his father in the head, killing him. He then drives to the mechanic shop and shoots Ted, a worker at Dazey's father's workshop. He then goes to Roslyn's house, where Dazey is.

He threatens Dazey as Roslyn tries to talk him down. Joe tells Roslyn that she could be with him. Joe and Roslyn embrace and then Joe turns the gun back on Dazey who is crying and lying on the ground. Roslyn hits Joe over the head with a mask and she and Dazey run to a car and speed off. Joe gets up quickly and pursues them in his car. After an intense chase they both crash at the docks. Roslyn gets out of the car, before Joe backs up into Dazey, causing another wreck. Joe dies from his injuries as Roslyn wanders off. Dazey, dazed and confused, gets out of his car and calls for Roslyn, unable to find her.

Cast

Reception

Despite generally positive reviews and selection in the 1994 Venice Film Festival, Metal Skin proved a disappointment at the Australian box office when it was released on 4 May 1995 where it grossed $883,521. [2] [3] Australian critic Andrew Howe praised it as "a dark, arresting ode to suburban hopelessness" [4] however Todd McCarthy writing in Variety described the film as "so overwrought and unrelievedly grim that it comes close to playing like a parody of teenage angst movies." [5]

Awards

It won AFI Awards in 1995 for Best Production Design (Steven Jones–Evans) and Best Sound (Frank Lipson, David Lee, Steve Burgess, Peter Burgess, Glenn Newnham) and received nominations for Best Actor (Aden Young), Supporting Actor (Ben Mendelsohn), Supporting Actress (Nadine Garner) and Costume Design (Anna Borghesi). Aden Young and Ben Mendelsohn shared the Film Critics Circle of Australia prize for Best Actor.[ citation needed ]

Novelisation

The novelisation of Metal Skin was written by Jocelyn Harewood and published by Text Publishing in 1995. Harewood follows the film closely however the book explores other sides of the characters: Joe's inner rage at his brain-damaged father and his love for what his father has been; Savina's destructive witchcraft; Dazey's moments of self-awareness and higher motives. It was published as an e-book in November 2012 and made available on Harewood's website. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Mendelsohn</span> Australian actor

Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his breakout role in The Year My Voice Broke (1987). He gained international attention for his starring role in the crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010). He has since had roles in films such as The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Starred Up (2013), Mississippi Grind (2015), Rogue One (2016), Darkest Hour (2017) and Ready Player One (2018).

<i>Somersault</i> (film) 2004 Australian film

Somersault is a 2004 Australian romantic drama film written and directed by Cate Shortland in her feature directorial debut. It was released on 16 September 2004 and screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It also swept the field at the 2004 Australian Film Institute Awards, winning every single feature film award.

<i>The Year My Voice Broke</i> 1987 Australian film

The Year My Voice Broke is a 1987 Australian coming of age drama film written and directed by John Duigan and starring Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen and Ben Mendelsohn. Set in 1962 in the rural Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, it was the first in a projected trilogy of films centred on the experiences of an awkward Australian boy, based on the childhood of writer/director John Duigan. The film itself is a series of interconnected segments narrated by Danny who recollects how he and his best friend Freya grew apart over the course of one year. Although the trilogy never came to fruition, it was followed by a 1991 sequel, Flirting. The film was the recipient of the 1987 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film, a prize which Flirting also won in 1990.

<i>Spotswood</i> (film) 1991 Australian film

Spotswood is a 1991 Australian business comedy-drama film directed by Mark Joffe. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, with a supporting cast of Ben Mendelsohn, Alwyn Kurts, Bruno Lawrence, Angela Punch McGregor, Daniel Wyllie, Toni Collette and Russell Crowe.

The Henderson Kids is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten between 1985 and 1987. It was created and storylined by Roger Moulton, who also wrote 5 episodes in the first series and 2 episodes in the second series.

<i>Idiot Box</i> (film) 1996 Australian film

Idiot Box is a 1996 Australian film starring Ben Mendelsohn and Jeremy Sims. Set in middle class city urban Australian youth and young adults culture with local criminal well to do's and widespread general unemployment. The story viewing is shown from the private and illicit side of the activity of friends turning to crime by personal circumstance, all the way to the nitty-gritty of sand-shoes and caring considerate criminals' sincerity. Idiot box is another "era" Australian "bank robber film" entwined with a wry sense of humour.

<i>The Big Steal</i> (1990 film) 1990 Australian film

The Big Steal is a 1990 Australian teen comedy film set in Melbourne, Australia directed by Nadia Tass starring Ben Mendelsohn, Claudia Karvan and Steve Bisley. David Parker was the scriptwriter and cinematographer. The film went on to win three Australian Film Institute awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadine Garner</span> Australian actress (born 1970)

Nadine Lynette Garner is an Australian actress who started her career as a teen performer.

Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance is a 2007 Australian mockumentary comedy film directed by Darren Ashton about competitive dance, first screened on 15 March 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Daperis</span> Australian Film Director

Jared Daperis is an Australian film director. He has received a Young Artist Award nomination and Berlin Commercial Award Nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Harewood</span> British actor (born 1965)

David Harewood OBE is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in Homeland (2011–2012), and as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Hank Henshaw / Cyborg Superman in Supergirl (2015–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aden Young</span> Canadian-Australian actor

Aden Young is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama Rectify, for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. He has appeared in American, Canadian and Australian productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Sultan</span> Indigenous Australian singer

Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, Get Out While You Can. At the 2014 ceremony he won Best Rock Album for Blackbird, which had reached number four on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2017, Sultan's record Killer was nominated for three ARIA awards: Best Male Artist, Best Rock Album, and Best Independent Release. Sultan's debut children's music album Nali & Friends was named Best Children's Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What I Don't Know 'bout You</span> 1998 single by You Am I

"What I Don't Know 'bout You" is the first single from the album #4 Record by Australian rock band You Am I. It was released in 1998 and reached number 28 on the Australian ARIA singles chart; the band's highest-charting single.

<i>Cosi</i> (film) 1996 Australian film

Cosi is a 1996 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Mark Joffe. Louis Nowra wrote both the screenplay and the 1992 play it was originally based on.

<i>Needle</i> (2010 film) 2010 Australian film

Needle is a 2010 Australian independent supernatural horror film starring Michael Dorman, Jessica Marais, Travis Fimmel, Trilby Glover, and Ben Mendelsohn, and directed by John V. Soto. Needle is structured as a murder mystery, with six distinct clues pointing to one of ten suspects; the trailer is intentionally misleading.

<i>Lover Boy</i> (1989 film) 1989 Australian short film

Lover Boy is a 1989 short film directed by Geoffrey Wright. It stars Noah Taylor and Gillian Jones.

<i>Starred Up</i> 2013 film

Starred Up is a 2013 British prison crime drama film directed by David Mackenzie and written by Jonathan Asser. Starring Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend, the film is based on Jonathan Asser's experiences working as a voluntary therapist at HM Prison Wandsworth, with some of the country's most violent criminals. The title refers to the early transfer of a criminal from a Young Offender Institution to an adult prison.

John Clifford White is an Australian composer. His film credits include Romper Stomper. The Heartbreak Kid, Metal Skin, and Macbeth.

References

  1. ↑ ARIA Award previous winners. "History Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  2. ↑ Kuipers, Richard. "Metal Skin (1994): Curator's notes". Australian Screen Online . Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Australian films at the Australian box office" (PDF). Film Victoria. 8 June 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Howe, Andrew (14 May 2001). "Metal Skin". eFilmCritic.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (19 September 1994). "Review: 'Metal Skin'". Variety . Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Harewood, Jocelyn. "Metal Skin". e-books by Jocelyn Harewood. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.