Skin

A- Biographical drama

• Written by Helen Crawley
• Directed by Anthony Fabian

Race can be a very difficult thing to define; especially for bureaucrats working for a government where race determines everything.

Sandra Laing (an actual, living person, played here by Sophie Okonedo) was born to white parents in South Africa in 1955, but by all appearances was what the apartheid system called colored (mixed-race). Her parents, staunch supporters of apartheid, fought to have her legally classified as white. Needless to say, their success didn’t solve her racial problems.

Screenwriter Helen Crawley and director Anthony Fabian do an admirable  job compressing a story that spans nearly four decades into a running time of less than two hours, without making it feel rushed or episodic. And all this in a story that spans remote outposts, shantytowns, and Johannesburg, taking Laing from boarding school troubles, adolescent rebellion, marriage, and single motherhood.

The real credit for Skin goes to Okonedo, who carries the film as if she was born for the part. True, there’s an age problem. Okonedo was in her late 30’s when the film was shot, and it’s a little hard at first to accept her as a teenager (a much younger actress, Ella Ramangwane, plays her as a child), but after a few minutes you accept the illusion. The youth is there, emotionally if not physically.

It’s great to see Okonedo finally get to play a lead role. She’s given great performances in Dirty Pretty Things, Hotel Rwanda (her Oscar nomination), The Secret Life of Bees, and the recent BBC version of Oliver Twist. Her range is impressive (even if in two of those films she played prostitutes), and her characters have always been complex and believable. And likeable; I always find myself caring deeply for her characters. And I’m pretty sure she’s the only Jew to win an NAACP Image award, for the TV movie Tsunami: The Aftermath.

The rest of the cast is excellent, as well, especially Sam Neill and Alice Krige as her loving but racist parents.

Skin opens Friday at the Clay, Shattuck, Guild, Rafael, and the Camera 3 (in San Jose).