Skins
A dark and moving tale of bitter helplessness turned to vigilante rage,Skinsis the second feature film directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals). As with the previous movie,Skinsconcerns two very different and determined protagonists who have grown up together: a cop, Rudy Yellow Lodge (Eric Schweig), on the Lakota reservation's police force, and his older brother Mogie (Graham Greene), an unrepentant drunk. Frustrated by Mogie's self-destruction and outraged by rampant alcoholism throughout the rez (with the disease's concomitant social violence and general hell-raising at an all-time high), Rudy resorts to off-duty, anonymous jungle justice--beating suspects and torching a Nebraska border-town liquor store--with tragic consequences. Eyre's unflinching eye for reservation horrors and the exploitation of Indians is compelling; his compassion for characters grasping at hope is equally strong.Skinsbenefits mightily from Schweig and Greene's strong performances; in all, this is an underrated drama waiting for a real audience.--Tom Keogh