SKINCARE – Review by Justina Walford

Elizabeth Banks’ latest thriller, Skincare, is a fairly generic ride in the world of beauty and the shallow social pool of Los Angeles. The premise is mildly interesting: A driven and business-savvy aesthetician feels threatened by a rival who moves in across the courtyard from her salon. Her descent into madness while navigating a superficial world and cutthroat industry is shot in a 90s/00s retro way but set in the present day.

Loosely based on the real-life case of facialist Dawn DaLuise, who allegedly hired a hitman to kill a rival, the film plays with the story, while making a few digs at Hollywood. Elizabeth Banks plays the protagonist, Hope, a career-driven woman who has her life 100% figured out. She has a skincare line about to launch and an illustrious career. She even has the uncanny ability to know someone’s age with only a glance at their face. Lewis Pullman plays a younger man who seduces Banks’ character. The story is deeply rooted in Hollywood’s sickness, full of paranoia, ego, and bumbling con artists.

While definitely set in the age of cell phones and internet stalking, Skincare has a retro feel that reminds me of the Nagel photo that still hangs in some salons. The shots are slightly washed out, and the fashion is a hodgepodge of the last 40 years. Keeping that style added a mental mirror to Hope, a woman who is aging in a city and an industry obsessed with youth. The set design reflected characters much more than the dialogue: Hope with her safe and classically decorated salon and her rival Angel with his Miami vibe of green and pink and neon.

Elizabeth Banks and Lewis Pullman as her young lover and life coach are excellent in the film. Banks straddles the line between charismatic entrepreneur and woman on the edge throughout the film, while Pullman has moments of insane, youthful ego.

I would have enjoyed more magical moments and more details of character. A moment with Angel at home alone with a karaoke machine was the most enjoyable scene purely because it showed Angel as a unique and relatable person. I would have loved a film full of those details. But they were few and far between.

The ending, while predictable, admittedly checks all the boxes for a mindless 90 minutes of fun. And the performances make up for the lack of originality. I would suggest it as a good date-ender, well, if you are not a 50-year-old beautician who will do anything to succeed and has a tint of Karen in you. That might get awkward.