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Rating: I don't really know where to start to begin talking about Skins and maybe if I had recently rewatched the first two series (for the third time, I believe), this review would be more detailed, considering there's an endless amount of things to say about it. But anyway, I don't know if I will watch the first generation of Skins (that is, the first two series) again, but I can't wait any longer to talk about it, considering that I'm moving further away from that complex period of our lives that Skins portrays so bluntly: adolescence.
I should conventionally say I've been out of it for about four years, but ultimately I don't feel so distant from those kids, not being economically independent yet. Closing the autobiographical parenthesis, let's move to Skins. What exactly is it and why talk about it? Well, Skins is one of those many cases where explaining the plot of the show equates to failing in the attempt to promulgate it: in fact, it's nothing but the daily life of a group of British teenagers in their last years of high school. Each episode introduces a particular kid, often dealing with various issues (from silly ones like virginity to big problems like anorexia) mostly stemming from the detachment and immaturity shown by parents and adults in general, who are more incapable or crazier than the kids, and derided with sacrilegious irony from the camera's eye. Although it focuses on one kid at a time, the group of friends will be present in every episode and the stories will intertwine to build a particularly successful puzzle. Sounds like nonsense, right? But also not. So, I'll talk about it in my own way, hoping to convince someone (even better if a teenager, I can't even imagine what a thrill it would be to discover Skins in high school!). I start from the premise that Skins 1-2 is, above all, a freakin' masterpiece, a work blessed with an unrepeatable inspiration and alchemy, and as such destined to endure but impossible to replicate. The following season (with new protagonists, still teenagers) is in fact just a superficial imitation focused on aspects of easy appeal (drugs, sex) while the last season (again new actors), although decent, fails to delve into the psyche of the protagonists or be equally entertaining and profound.
Skins 1-2 was written by very young writers, just over twenty, for non-professional actors between the ages of 17 to 19. So, I'm not talking about Dawson's Creek and similar nonsense, stupidities full of moralism and far from reality. In Skins, instead, there is a search for realism and cynicism, even at the cost of entering dystopia. No one is spared, neither the protagonists with their flaws (see Tony's egocentrism, one of the most charismatic figures ever) nor, even more so, the adults, who as mentioned fail miserably in their role as guides and are a contributing factor to larger problems. The series has often been criticized because some themes are shown lightly and without critical intent. This happens, for example, with drugs (mostly pills and a lot of weed) largely consumed without consequences for anyone, and the same detached treatment is given to sex, homosexuality, religion. By not using any filters, more than addressing themes, Skins shows them to us in a random manner, without passing judgment: it's as if there were an open window on a microuniverse and what we see is nothing but objective reality. But it would be simplistic to see Skins as an uneducative work because its intent is nothing but to display the lives of a group of young people almost always left to their own devices from their perspective. So although more engaged topics are touched upon (religion, anorexia, divorce, etc.), classic adolescent issues like love or friendship also carry particular weight. And I'm sorry to have gone on, but I'll try to be as concise as possible in illustrating what else is good about this series. Obviously, I can't be entirely exhaustive, but it is necessary to mention a few things.
1) The soundtrack. Mostly Indie-rock, but also trip hop, dubstep, electronic, folk... All the seasons, from this perspective, are mines of good stuff.
2) Screenplay, directing, and acting. Damn if they did a good job, memorable dialogues, iconic scenes, and actors in a state of grace. Besides, highly charismatic characters. The naturalness with which the kids interact is almost touching.
3) The first series makes you laugh your ass off, the pace is sustained, and you never get bored. Ideas come out in profusion. On the other hand, the second series is often depressingly forced, but I almost cried at the end, and I could never speak ill of it. The characters grow, the idyll ends.
4) About time someone used more foul language, fuck!
5) Smells like English teen spirit.
6) Hanna Murray's performance as the problematic Cassie is something memorable. Cassie is simply the most adorable and fragile blonde I've ever seen on the small screen, and I confess I've fallen in love with her.
Obviously, I could go on much longer, but there's no point in that. The first season of Skins is to be watched and, if possible, even experienced. Then you decide whether to continue or not; perhaps you'll be captivated by the subsequent ones. Personally, even though the other two generations entertained me, I never found the same emotions that those kids gave me. Guaranteed.
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