Cat (Jodie Hirst) is a shy photography student at a Brighton college who has a crush on a fellow student named April (Faye Sewell) who finds out that cat has been taking photos of her. However, instead of being upset, April is actually curious and Cat overcomes her shyness asking April out. What follows is the beginning of an authentic romance and a coming of age story between two girls who can't quite be openly happy together in a world that will not let them be.
CAT SKIN plays like a tenderer version of BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, its sex scenes lean more towards love-making and the sexual discovery of the two female leads. This is a romance film, but one we know will have its dark, tragic undertones. We live in a world that for all the advances we have made, each day appears as if we made a leap back when it comes to LGBTQ rights. The film doesn't really go into social justice areas, but it's simply concerned with the purity of love, love that finds any vessel and that cannot be resisted. These stories may not appear to be new, but they are none the less necessary, the love story between Cat and April deserves to be told for there's not many of them out there.
Director Daniel Grasskamp tells a modern love story with confidence and thoughtfulness, but also knows how to inject moments of searing pain that break the spell. Hirst and Sewell are terrific together and their chemistry lights up the screen, you root for them to stay together, and fear for them when you know the world won't make it easy for them. Overall, a love story for our times told without the illusions of other films that wrap everything in a bow-tie with easy answers. Love does conquer it all, but all conquests take a toll for all.
Review Written by Enrrico Wood Lagonigro - Senior Curator Oaxaca FilmFest.
