Skincare is a film in the crime thriller genre and is helmed by Austin Peters. The film stars Elizabeth Banks as Hope Goldman who is working as an aesthetician for high profile people. Written by Peters, Deering Regan, and Sam Freilich, the film dropped on August 16th, 2024.
Upon its release, Skincare has been received positively by viewers as well as critics. There is particular interest in the ending of the film and what it means. People are looking for answers and hence, we have decided to explain the whole ending. So keep reading to find out.
Hope and Angel’s Rivalry
Hope Goldman is about to launch her skincare product line. But she gets competition from Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) who decides to open a boutique in front of hers. The makers have hinted that the story is taken from newspaper headlines.
Throughout the film, Hope tries to find out who is behind her. She believes it’s Angel who is orchestrating all the horrible things directed at her.
Later, someone attacks Angel at his home and cops believe Hope is behind it. Meanwhile, she confronts Jordan (Lewis Pullman) and later goes to her house. Cops show up at her doorstep and end up arresting her. Jordan is also attacked and the skincare products of Hope are bought by several customers.
News breaks out that she had hired a killer to eliminate her competition. Elizabeth Banks has said that the ending signifies that Hope eventually gets what she always planned for her. The skincare line she worked hard on, manages to do well in the market because of the buzz she creates.
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Angel As A Competition
Towards the end of Skincare, Angel manages to live through the brutal attack on him and returns to his boutique. Luis Gerardo Méndez, who plays this character, has stated that Angel never wanted to hurt Hope.
Being a Latino in the United States, Mendez mentioned that his character was only doing his work. All that took place because of the paranoia she was experiencing and the attacks on her by someone else.
Throughout the film, Hope is attacked using different methods. Someone hacks into her email address and sends some really bizarre emails to her entire clientele. That mysterious person also ends up putting an advertisement in her name that ends up affecting her image. All these things build up to Hope confronting Angel.
Skincare touches upon the issues a middle-aged woman faces in the cosmetic industry. Because the beauty standards are always so high, it’s hard for women to stay relevant. It’s because of the nature of the industry which is not very harsh on aging men. With the journey of Hope, we get to see how far a woman can go to achieve her goals.
The main inspiration for Skincare comes from the case of Dawn DaLuise. Back in 2014, Dawn DaLuise ran a facial studio in the West Hollywood region. She continued to be harassed via phone calls and emails. This triggered something in her and she hired a hitman to kill her rival. However, Dawn was arrested by the authorities.
Conclusion
Skincare takes a leaf out of a real incident and dramatizes the entire event. Banks beautifully portrays the insecurities of Hope Goldman as she tries very hard to survive in an industry that is very ruthless.
Hope simply wants to have a business that does well and is willing to eliminate any form of competition in her way. The film does a nice job of portraying how human emotions work in such extreme situations.