Skincare (2024) || Movie Review

So, I thought I could wow you guys with an epic thriller. Scrolling through the list of newly released movies on the net, I was drawn to the title of the movie I’m about to review. I read a little summary of the movie and sensing that it was the kind of thriller that I’d be able to stomach, I quickly downloaded it. It helped that it revolved around something a lot of us are into. Skincare. So yeah, without much ado, allow me to present:

Skincare (2024)

Skincare was released on the 16th of August, 2024. It’s directed by Austin Peters and stars renowned names like Elizabeth Banks who plays the leading role as Hope Goldman, Lewis Pullman, Nathan Fillion, etc. It’s of the contemporary thriller genre and is set in Hollywood, U.S.A. The movie is described as a fictional story based on true events and it spans for about 90 minutes.

Summary of the Movie

Renowned Los Angeles aesthetician and skincare expert, Hope Goldman, is about to take her career to the next level by launching her very own, Italy-produced skincare line. As a veteran in the business who has catered to those in the movie industry for decades, Hope is expectant that the launching of her new line would go seamlessly, especially since she’s poured everything she has into its launching.

But things suddenly go awry for Hope when she notices a new store opening just across hers. On closer inspection, she discovers that it’s a rival skincare boutique by Angel Vergara, a star in the business she was unaware of. She finds this uncanny and immediately develops the notion that someone is trying to sabotage her. It does not help that from the very next day, her email account gets hacked by an unknown person, sending lewd information to all her contacts as well as sexual and obscene ads to the general public. Can Hope Goldman find out who is attempting to sabotage her and save her failing business just before the launch of her new line?

My Rating and Review

After seeing this movie, I had to go check for the source behind it, since it was said to be inspired by true events. From what I discovered, the storyline is similar to the true event that happened ten years ago between Dawn DaLuise and Gabriel Suarez, where Dawn went to jail for allegedly soliciting the attempted murder of her rival in the business, Suarez. She was eventually acquitted by a jury, but the entire case is still stoked with a lot of mystery, hearsay and gossip.

The movie began nicely. It had the novel way of beginning from the middle of the movie before getting to the beginning. And I admit that I was hooked to the ongoing of this thriller....at first. It had the right kind of storyline that would keep the audience interested till it began to fall apart at the seams.

In the beginning, Peters takes us through the taut journey of the beautician’s world. The film doesn’t stumble and we’re introduced to all the characters and given a little bit of their backstories in a brief, apt way. The moment Hope’s fixation and somewhat obsession for Angel begins to grow, you can sense the danger looming ahead. At this point, I was at the edge of my seat as I couldn’t shake that nagging feeling that comes with any good thriller. That’s till the movie slackens deplorably and that tautness slips.

From there we’re taken on this bizarre, haphazard ride that doesn’t allow us to delve into the cutthroat business of the skin and beauty world. Maybe if it had been explored better and the focus didn’t shift to all over the place, this movie might have just been epic. It was sad watching everything fall apart, an influx of far too many cut scenes and not much explanation to what exactly was happening.

It had kind of an open end that I guess the director wanted to portray as the real case that occurred but the dissatisfying taste couldn’t leave my mouth. It just hung there unsatisfactorily and I gingerly deleted the movie the moment I was done. A hollow, slightly disgruntled feeling of what did I just watch enveloped me. Skincare lacked a lot of things and really could have a better portrayal of what truly happened. A weak 6/10 for me. Not sure if it’s worth a watch let alone a rewatch.

Jhymi🖤

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