Some movies demand a second viewing to get the full effect. Movies like The Sixth Sense and Memento can provide you with a much different experience when you are armed with the knowledge that the first viewing provides. There are times when I don't like a movie enough to merit a second look but I felt that Metal Skin was a film that called for this. I am so glad I watched it again because although it was fairly enjoyable the first time around, a second viewing made it a much more complete experience as I was able to get the full effect of what director Geoffrey Wright was going for.

Metal Skin is not a happy movie nor is it a movie that is about drag racing. There are scenes of drag racing in the film and there is a beautifully shot yet short car chase but essentially this film is about four people in Melbourne and the unhappy lives they lead. If you are looking for something with action like The Fast And The Furious or Mad Max (which are both mentioned on the back of the DVD), you are going to be in for a disappointment but if you are in the mood for some strange and tortured characters in a story that is told in a way that you will likely remember for a long time, this is something worth checking out. This was much more like Two-Lane Blacktop than Days Of Thunder.

Aden Young stars as Joe, an awkward guy who wants to meet a girl but is held back by his lack of confidence and his mentally ill father who is slipping into dementia. Joe starts a new job at a food store where he meets a guy named Dazey (Ben Mendelsohn) who happens to be involved in the subculture of illegal drag racing. Dazey is a somewhat irresponsible chap and he has a difficult relationship with his girlfriend Roslyn (Nadine Garner) who was badly burned in a car accident. Regardless of Dazey's morals, Joe stills looks at him as a cool dude and befriends him. Joe is also desperate for love and he sets his sights on an odd girl at work named Savina (Tara Morice) who has a lint-collecting mom and a nasty habit of worshiping Satan. All of these characters are tragic yet endearing as you want them all to find what they are seeking even though you know that it is probably not going to happen. Still, you hope that they will overcome the odds that are stacked against them by themselves, society, and their own attitudes about their lives.

Geoffrey Wright delivered this movie as a follow-up to his highly successful skinhead drama Romper Stomper which starred Russell Crowe. Although Metal Skin does not deliver the same visceral impact of it's predecessor, it still brings us a memorable group of characters trying to exist in a bleak world. We also have a fine group of lead actors that, as Wright puts it, are not afraid to play ugly and we are rewarded with a quartet of performances that complement each other as we see the characters trying to relate while being chained with their personal issues. This could have just become a montage of cool-guy posturing but Wright and his actors draw us in with compassion for the characters even though they all have their faults and are not your typical morally upstanding citizens.

Wright has chosen to incorporate a great deal of crosscutting and jump cutting in the film, which adds to the uncertainty of everything you are seeing. I found that this brought me closer to the confusion that they characters are feeling. Being in this state allows us to feel more for the characters rather than simply write them off as a bunch of pathetic losers. There is also a noticeable lack of recognizable landscapes which brings us into a world that is seemingly only occupied by members of this small subculture and which also adds a huge impact to the final shot of the film which made me realize that I was watching something in the real world and not just the wasteland of the characters. Combined with the song which played over the end credits, I found it almost like a rebirth from the dismal world that the film took place in. Regardless, once you have been through this movie once, if you check it out again, you can understand what all the crosscuts were about and you can see that, like all good movies, that everything is there for a reason...even if at the time you think it is unnecessary. I'm sure that I will be revisiting this flick a few more times in my life. (Josh Pasnak, 7/21/06)

Directed By: Geoffrey Wright.
Written By: Geoffrey Wright.

Starring: Aden Young, Tara Morice, Nadine Garner, Ben Mendelsohn.

Picture Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: This is a movie that has some amazing shots and utilizes a lot of color. I thought the film looked great and there was obviously a lot of care taken to ensure that the picture looked as good as it could.

Extras: First up, we have a commentary with director Wright and producer Daniel Scharf. Composer John Clifford White and camera operator Brent Crockett participate as well in a more limited capacity. Wright comes off as a little bit arrogant but in an innocent way that makes you feel more like he is really proud of the film and not just trying to be an ass. He has made some pretty good movies with this and Romper Stomper so he has a right to be to some extent. Aside from talking about how great everything is, they also offer some insight into the difficulties of production and following up the success of Romper Stomper. Next, we have a 34-minute documentary about the making of the film that featured Wright and actors Young, Morice, and Garner. I have to say that Tara Morice looks completely different in the featurette and looked pretty damn good I might add.

A big surprise for me was the quality of the short film that was included with this set. Usually, when a director's early work is included, it can be a little shoddy. Wright's first film Lover Boy, however, shows his knack for telling a good story and especially for bringing us solid and sympathetic characters. In this case, our leads are a teenage boy (Noah Taylor from Shine) and an older woman (Gillian Jones) and the relationship they have with each other that is the type that is not going to be accepted too well by society. This was an incredibly engaging flick and I almost liked it as much as the main feature. Metal Skin's Ben Mendelsohn and Romper Stomper's Daniel Pollock have supporting roles. The short film can be played on its own or with a solo commentary from Wright.

Rounding out the extras is a photo gallery, a series of trailers for other releases from Subversive Cinema, and a bonus CD containing the soundtrack. Subversive has done an amazing job on this package and at this point it is my top DVD release of 2006.

For more info visit Subversive Cinema.