Skin Deep (2015)

Leah is a tightly wound young woman with a bad boyfriend, a worse medical condition, and a severe case of denial about both.

Caitlin is a queer, clinically depressed pysch student with an alcohol problem and a severe case of still being hung-up on her ex.

The two strangers meet after Leah’s boyfriend fails to pick her up after a hospital appointment.  As first encounters go, it is not a positive one: Leah thinks Caitlin is rude, while Caitlin thinks Leah is uptight.  To be fair, they both have a point.

However, Leah's continued, out of place presence nags at a the back of Caitlin's mind, and she eventually makes another approach to the stranger in her neighbourhood.  It's awkward and not entirely successful, but it is the first step toward the two women spending an unexpected day and night together.

Which is a set-up straight out of the romance genre playbook, but that's not actually where this film is going.  Instead, Skin Deep is more of a meditation on the challenges we may need to overcome in our lives - mental illness, physical illness, toxic relationships - and the ways in which we self-sabotage, because sometimes it is easier to accept a known level of failure than to risk more pain by chasing something better.

Leah and Caitlin spend the day learning about each other, and in the process learn about themselves.  Which may sound horribly twee, but the script wisely avoids too trite an ending.  Both characters do find some new hope, and perhaps a better way forward with their lives, but it's clear that they still have a lot of work to do to really become "well", if such a thing is even possible.

This independent Australian film was shot in just 10 days.  Its Aussie heritage is evident not just in the accents of the cast, but in the dialogue itself, with the use of slang such as "stoked!".  And there's perhaps nothing more quintessentially Australian than the following exchange between the two leads:

Caitlin: "C'mon, get up!"
Lead: "Why? What are we doing?"
Caitlin: "I dunno, but it's gonna be (expletive) stupid."

I don't think there is anything especially novel being offered here, but Skin Deep explores two interesting, flawed people and the journey they share together, and it managed to keep my interest.  It's solidly made and acted - especially given the fast shooting schedule - and I didn't regret the time spent watching it.  If you're in the mood for a slightly quieter bit of story-telling, it may serve you well.