In My Skin

In My Skin (French: Dans ma peau) is a 2002 New French Extremity horror film written by, directed by, and starring Marina de Van. It details the downward mental spiral of Esther, a woman (played by de Van) who engages in increasingly destructive acts of self-mutilation following an accident that injures her leg at a party. Plot Esther (Marina de Van) seems to have it all: a great job, an active social life and an adoring boyfriend. One night, whilst attending a house party with colleagues, Esther hurts her leg in the backyard on some industrial supplies. Alone when it happens, she doesn't even realize she has been hurt until much later, briefly inspecting the injury in an upstairs bathroom. After the party, Esther visits a doctor (Adrian de Van) who patches her up and wonders why she didn't initially feel the injury. Esther wonders too, but seems unconcerned about any cosmetic damage. He asks her jokingly, "Are you sure it's your leg?" The next day, while taking a bath, Esther becomes fascinated by the folds of skin around her thigh. Her boyfriend, Vincent (Laurent Lucas), finds out about her injury and also becomes concerned about how she didn't feel the injury. Vincent decides to test if Esther can feel anything by lightly touching her arm when she is not looking. She reacts to it normally, but they soon begin to fight before making up quickly. At work, Esther impulsively runs into a filing closet and proceeds to cut herself further with a random piece of metal. Esther then asks her friend Sandrine (Léa Drucker) to come have a break, but Sandrine declines. Esther reveals candidly that she has just cut herself before laughing it off. Sandrine asks Esther to stay over at her place for the night. There, as Esther is taking a shower, Sandrine sees the extra cuts Esther made to her leg. Esther is indifferent to Sandrine's concerns. Later, when they talk about work, Sandrine expresses a desire to move up in the company where they work.