“The Skeleton Twins” (15)Directed by: Craig Johnson.
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell.
Rated: ‘15’ for containing strong language, sex and sex references.
Running time: 93 minutes.
Released in UK cinemas from the 7th of November, 2014.
Award-winning, yet perhaps marketed wrongly in relation to the film’s tone, “The Skeleton Twins” opens with one of our main protagonists, Milo (Hader), stripping off, and placing himself within a bathtub of hot water. With his stereo playing at full blast, he proceeds to slit his wrists. Meanwhile, Milo's sister Maggie (Wiig) is about to swallow a handful of pills. They’re both at their wits end.
What a depressing opening to what I believed to be a charming comedy. In fact, the beginning of “The Skeleton Twins” may be bleak in its nature, yet it’s tone rises, and flourishes into perhaps one of this year’s greatest cinematic achievements. A comedy/drama about what happens when we lose sight of our life.
So, after both coincidentally attempting to commit suicide on the same day, Milo (Hader) winds up in hospital, and Maggie (Wiig) arrives to visit him. The pair haven’t seen each other in over 10 years, and after various conversations reminiscing their past, the pair realise they’ve never been so far apart than now. Deciding to rekindle their relationship, Maggie invites Milo to stay with her and her overly cheery husband Lance (a hilarious Wilson), back in their hometown, hoping to reengage Milo within his life. But as life so often does, it decides to throw various situations into their daily endeavours, including marital problems and re-visiting a forbidden relationship between Milo and an older man/previous teacher Rich (Burrell), causing the siblings to face their personal problems (there’s a fair few), in order to fix their relationship.
Don’t allow the gloomy subject of suicide to put you off this ingenious indie-flick, “The Skeleton Twins” is a prime example of how to balance drama and hilarity. For instance, nearing the end of the film Maggie and Milo begin to argue, but Milo’s there to lighten the mood once again, as Hader uses his expert charm and energy to entice her into lip-syncing along to Starship’s power-house hit, “ Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now” (the soundtrack itself is wonderful) . Expect laughter, in heavy doses. Even after their nifty little number, the pair bounce back into a dramatic mode with such ease, it seems as though they’re naturals.
Naturals they are, as the cast of this Sundance hit (the film walked away from Sundance 2014 with a screenwriting award) have provided outstanding performances, especially from Wiig and Hader. When the duo aren’t gallivanting around the stage over on “SNL”, the pair allow themselves to develop their acting (and writing, in relation to Wiig) abilities through various feature films, and this piece is no exception, as “The Skeleton Twins” feels particularly realistic and relatable, due to their ability to master the major shifts in tone and because the situations in which the characters find themselves actually take place in many people’s lives.
Not only is the film anchored by the main performances, but it’s also the supporting cast who not only score some of the most intense and hilarious scenes, but act in ways we haven’t seen before. Burrell and Wilson are the prime candidates here, as Burrell’s troubled character provides him with a small, yet meaty role in which he gladly sinks his teeth into, reflecting the same comical selfishness of his character Steve from “Dawn Of The Dead” (2004). Wilson meanwhile happily portrays the bumbling fool of a husband, who is unsuspecting of his wife in relation to just about everything, but his scenes with Hader often prove to be comic gold.
Along with the powerful performances from its cast, “The Skeleton Twins” benefits from the well written script by Johnson (“True Adolescents”) and Mark Heyman (“Black Swan”), which revisits the family drama and attempts to steer away from clichéd material, but fails towards the end of the film’s running time, and falls into unfortunate clichéd territory, but the performances manage to salvage a poor ending to such an endearing piece.
Verdict
Featuring eloquent performances from its prodigious cast, “The Skeleton Twins” is a frequently hysterical drama, which is sure to inspirit it’s audiences throughout its strikingly sincere story.
8.5 Stars out of 10
Written by Scott Gentry.
Film/TV Rating Key
1-2 stars out of ten = Awful.
3-4 stars out of ten = Average.
5-6 stars out of ten = Good.
7-8 stars out of ten = Excellent.
9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.
9-10 stars out of ten = Amazing.
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