In My Skin

Esther injures her leg on industrial supplies in the backyard during a house party. She doesn't notice the wound at first, only realizing it later when she quietly inspects it in an upstairs bathroom. The incident foreshadows a disturbing preoccupation with her body that will unfold over the following days.

The next day she visits a doctor who patches the wound and questions why she didn't feel the injury initially. The doctor is puzzled, and Esther also wonders about it, though she remains unconcerned about any cosmetic damage. The interaction plants seeds of unease about her numbness.

While soaking in the bath, Esther becomes fascinated by the folds of skin around her thigh. The inspection feels intimate and unsettling, hinting at a growing fixation. There is no external threat yet, only an inward curiosity.

Vincent notices the injury is not painful for Esther and tests her by lightly touching her arm when she isn't looking. She responds normally, but the moment sparks a dispute between them. They argue, then reconcile, as if walking a line between concern and suspicion.

At work, Esther impulsively slips into a filing closet and cuts herself again with a piece of metal. The act isn't swept under the rug; later she casually tells her friend Sandrine that she cut herself, then laughs it off. The secrecy and nonchalance deepen the mystery around her condition.

Sandrine later discovers the cuts when Esther visits and is visibly concerned. Esther is indifferent to Sandrine's worries, even as Sandrine hints at jealousy over Esther's promotion and rising status at work. The tension foreshadows the strain in Esther's relationships.

Esther informs Sandrine that she has been promoted, which strains Sandrine further. Vincent expresses more worry about Esther's increasingly alarming injuries. Esther asks him to stop questioning her, signaling a withdrawal from the support systems around her.

During a dinner with Esther's supervisor and important clients, her arm moves on its own and eventually detaches from her body. She stabs at the arm with a steak knife, then excuses herself to continue cutting and gnawing at it. The scene marks a dramatic escalation of her self-injury.

Esther checks into a hotel and continues to cut and chew her hands and thighs, leaving large bite marks. She purposely crashes her car in the woods to rationalize her injuries, and Vincent meets her in the ambulance, becoming increasingly suspicious. The crash becomes a tangible symbol of her unraveling.

Back home, Vincent discusses future plans to move in after she heals, while Esther faces a new reprimand from her supervisor for the dinner incident. The dual pressures reveal the collapse of normal life around her. The audience sees the widening rift between Esther and those around her.

The day after, Esther goes out to purchase a camera and a new knife, signaling a continuing preoccupation with recording or documenting her body. The purchases hint at a ritual or compulsion underpinning her actions. The world around her begins to feel increasingly distant.

Esther checks into another hotel and intensifies her self-harm, cutting flesh including her face. The acts grow more violent and public, blurring the line between sensation and grotesque ritual. The hotel room becomes a stage for her unraveling.

She inquires at a pharmacy about preserving a piece of her skin that she cut out, indicating a fixation with possession and fragmentation of her body. The request adds a clinical, almost objectifying dimension to her actions. The scene underscores her detachment from normal boundaries.

Back at the hotel, Esther calls her work to apologize for her unexplained absence and leaves a message for Vincent saying she will not be home that night. The normal channels of communication fray as she drifts away from her relationships. The film builds toward a silent, unsettling climax.

The following morning, Esther wakes, inspects a now-shriveled piece of skin, places it in her bra, and stares vacantly into the camera. She leaves the room as the image lingers, and the frame fades to black. The closing shot cements the film's sense of alienation and obsession.