After an incident with setting a mosque on fire, Bryon Widner decides to quit white supremacist movement. He marries Julie and begins to work odd jobs alongside illegal workers, who accept him. White supremacist members retaliate by shooting out his home with him and his pregnant wife Julie inside, but both are unharmed. When Bryon steps out, he sees his dog hanging from the tree. Bryon meets with political activistDaryle Lamont Jenkins and agent Marks in the FBI office. Using information Bryon has provided them, the FBI raids the white supremacist compound where Gavin tries to run but gets shot. Krager is arrested. Jenkins continues heading the One People's Project and remains good friends with Bryon. Bryon undergoes two years of surgeries to have all his face and hand tattoos removed. He works on getting a degree in criminal psychology and speaks around the country about tolerance and inclusion from his own experience.
On May 11, 2017, international rights to Skin was bought by Seville International at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. In August 2018, it was reported that composer Dan Romer would be scoring the music for the feature. In May 2017, it was announced that Jamie Bell and Danielle Macdonald would star in the film, with Nattiv writing the screenplay, producing and directing. In March 2018, after production on the film had started, Vera Farmiga was announced to have joined the cast of the film, with Nattiv's wife Jaime Ray Newman reported to be producing. That same month, Mike Colter was cast as Daryle Lamont Jenkins, founder of the One People's Project. Shortly thereafter, actors Ari Barkan, Scott Thomas, DanielHenshall, Michael Villar, Justin Wilson, and Russel Posner joined the cast. Principal photography began in January 2018 in Kingston, New York, and was completed in March 2018.
Release
Skin had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018. Shortly after, A24 and DirecTV Cinema acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released through DirecTV Cinema on June 27, 2019, and had a limited release on July 26, 2019.
Critical reception
Skin holds a 78% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 72 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.72/10. The site's consensus reads: "Skin could stand to goa bit deeper below its surface, but a worthy story and a committed performance from Jamie Bell make this timely drama well worth a watch". On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 58 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
