The Skin I Live In

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The Skin I Live In

R

2011

2h 0m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

178 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Ever since his beloved wife was horribly burned in an auto accident, Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a skilled plastic surgeon, has tried to develop a new skin that could save the lives of burn victims. Finally, after 12 years, Ledgard has created a skin that guards the body, but is still sensitive to touch. With the aid of his faithful housekeeper (Marisa Paredes), Ledgard tests his creation on Vera (Elena Anaya), who is held prisoner against her will in the doctor's mansion.

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Critics Consensus

The Skin I Live In lacks Almodovar's famously charged romance, replaced with a wonderfully bizarre and unpredictable detour into arthouse ick.

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Gabrielle Rivera

Autostraddle

Jun 11, 2021

Banderas settles into the dark character of Dr. Ledgard with a stillness and apparent ease that gave me the chills I left the movie theater wondering if it worth it.

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José Teodoro

Film Comment Magazine

Nov 5, 2013

Almodóvar has a body of work as rigorously personal as any out there, and, even with its flaws, he wears this latest Skin rather well.

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Nicolas Rapold

Film Comment Magazine

Jul 1, 2013

Despite the typically invigorating sense of line and framing, The Skin I Live In withholds the director's customary satisfactions and affirmations. The result is a saga of obsession that, in its saturnine undertone, maintains a hard-to-enjoy integrity.

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Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

Mar 21, 2026

3.5/4

Like the lovely Vera, the film offers cool, attractive surfaces, but the secret behind the woman and her world she inhabits will chill you to the bone.

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Bianca Garner

Filmotomy

Oct 4, 2024

Banderas’ Ledgard is charismatic, sinister and full of deep rooted rage. Banderas’ performance is very remisicitant of Cary Grant in Suspicion (1941), but our suspicions of Ledgard is very much justified in The Skin I Live In.

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Michael Leader

Den of Geek

May 7, 2024

4/5

Alberto Iglesias' astounding score is a diverse work, taking in a wide array of tones and arrangements, shifting from high tension string sections, to electronic backbeats, from guitar drones to moody saxophone.

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Alec H

@alechbt Oct 6, 2026

The Skin I Live In is disturbing because its horror is cold, clinical, and methodical rather than grotesque. Robert’s violence reflects exactly who he is: a surgeon who believes in control, precision, and his own moral logic. What happens to Vicente becomes far more unsettling because the film is really asking where identity comes from and how much of yourself can survive when someone else reshapes your body and your life. The moment Vicente kisses his own photograph says almost everything the film needs to say. And the ending: "I’m Vicente." Cut to black. Perfect.

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David H

@RT78557869 Sep 1, 2026

Think Almodovar can’t do horror? Think Banderas can’t play an utterly chilling villain? Think again. The visuals are, as ever with Almodovar, amazing. Reminiscent of The Vanishing, slightly let down by the ridiculous housekeeper’s son, but for me, Almodovar and Banderas outdo themselves

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Apr 30, 2026

Oh my gosh this was a weird movie. Glad there was subtitles. I always love unique movies, and this one is definitely that. CSM says 18+. I think I agree with them.

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Alexsander F

@Aelxs Feb 28, 2026

I am at a loss for words when it comes to articulating my thoughts regarding this film. / No encuentro palabras para expresar mis pensamientos sobre esta película.

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Richard S

@RT25368873 Sep 20, 2025

Creepy and boring. I watched this film once in 2013 and once in 2025. It might be more interesting the first watch, but there is limited rewatchability

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Jordan M.

@jmiller254 Jul 7, 2025

Interesting from beginning to end and hours later after you think about what the hell you just watched

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Pedro Almodóvar

Director

Antonio Banderas

Dr. Robert Ledgard

Elena Anaya

Vera

Marisa Paredes

Marilia

Jan Cornet

Vicente

Roberto Álamo

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Synopsis

Ever since his beloved wife was horribly burned in an auto accident, Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a skilled plastic surgeon, has tried to develop a new skin that could save the lives of burn victims. Finally, after 12 years, Ledgard has created a skin that guards the body, but is still sensitive to touch. With the aid of his faithful housekeeper (Marisa Paredes), Ledgard tests his creation on Vera (Elena Anaya), who is held prisoner against her will in the doctor's mansion.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Producer: Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
Screenwriter: Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: El Deseo S.A., FilmNation, Canal+ España
Rating: R (Drug Use|Disturbing Violent Content|Strong Sexuality|Graphic Nudity|Language|Sexual Assault)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: European Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 10, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.2M
Runtime: 2h 0m

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