In Her Skin

In Her Skin (also known as I Am You) is an Australian movie that was released in 2009. The film is based on a true story where a fifteen year old girl by the name of Rachel Barber, who went missing on March 1st, 1999, was brutally and viciously murdered.

Plot

Rachel, a beautiful dancer who's known for her grace and elegance, misses the train home to meet her father. After Mike (Guy Pearce) informs his wife Elizabeth (Miranda Otto), the frantic search for their fifteen year old daughter begins. While trying to report to the authorities the story of their missing daughter, the police see this case as just another teen runaway since Rachel was gone with her backpack and a few treasured items. This resulted in few little police activity or search. No one seemed to take this case as seriously as they should've.

The film then starts to focus on the Barber's neighbor who used to babysit Rachel, Caroline Reed Robertson (Ruth Bradley). Caroline is a disturbed teen who has suffered from depression and anxiety all her life. Parental rejection and feeling inferior was also what enhanced her sickness, with extreme self-loathing of her overweight self (and the fact that she's epileptic) only makes her more self-conscious than need be.

While growing, Caroline take a special interest in Rachel. She continues to isolate herself from reality and when becoming estranged in this new fantasy of becoming Rachel does she then plan to kill her and steal her identity.

Overall

I think the depth of this movie is really something that was well portrayed. While Caroline's character was a disturbed teenager that suffered from depression, was bullied at school and loathed by her parents, it was obvious to see why she had gone to such lengths before having a complete meltdown.

I'm more so awestruck at the depth of this movie and thought it was beautifully portrayed in the light of understanding why a previous babysitter that the Barbers had trusted snapped and became such a monster contemplating heinous acts.