Skins

Rudy, a police officer, and Mogie Yellow Lodge, unemployed, live on the Beaver Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The brothers' tense relationship frames the town's struggles as Rudy tries to shield his family while Mogie drinks and jokes about their decline. The film establishes a precarious balance of duty, humor, and despair that defines their days.

As a child, Rudy was bitten by a spider and was told it was Iktomi, the trickster spider. The spider reappears early in the film, foreshadowing how superstition and guilt will influence Rudy's actions. The encounter hints that Rudy's sense of justice may wander outside the law.

On a police call to an abandoned house, Rudy discovers the bloodied, dead body of a young man who has been kicked to death. He glimpses a shadowy figure in the darkness, but the stranger escapes and Rudy trips on a rock before he can identify him. The case unsettles him and triggers his obsession with the killer.

Rudy's friend tells him rocks are spiritual, blurring the line between law and vigilante justice. He spots a teenage boy wearing the same shoes as the fleeing suspect and tails him, overhearing talk about disposing of the boots that connect them to the murder. The hints push Rudy toward a dangerous, self-appointed pursuit.

Disguised with black paint on his face, Rudy sneaks up on the teens with a baseball bat and savagely breaks their kneecaps, declaring himself the ghost of the boy they murdered. The brutal act marks his falling further from the law. He sees Iktomi again while washing off the paint, intensifying his inner turmoil.

Angered by a news report about a liquor store exploiting Native Americans, Rudy sets the store on fire wearing the painted face. Unbeknownst to him, Mogie is on the roof trying to steal alcohol and narrowly escapes the blaze, but is burned and scarred in the process. The incident strains their fragile bond and alters both of their lives.

Shocked by the consequences, Rudy seeks help from a friend for dealing with Iktomi's spirit. They turn to home remedies and a sweat lodge ceremony, attempting to restore balance and reverse the creeping vigilante influence. The sequence shows the community trying to heal the rift between spirit and law.

Mogie is hospitalized after his injuries and doctors discover he is dying from liver failure. The news deepens Rudy's sense of guilt and responsibility toward Mogie's son and foreshadows the family's looming loss. Mogie's condition underscores the cost of their choices and the town's decay.

During Mogie's hospital stay, the family gathers for dinner and Mogie brings up American Horse, prompting a recounting of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Rudy narrates the historical trauma to his nephew Herbie, connecting personal regrets with collective memory. The conversation deepens the bond and sets a framework for Mogie's dying wish.

Rudy tells Mogie that he started the fire, and Mogie responds that the one thing he can do to atone is blow the nose off Mount Rushmore's George Washington. Rudy calls the idea crazy and refuses, signaling a boundary between vengeance and responsibility. The moment marks a turning point in their dynamic.

Rudy responds to a police call where the victim is Mogie's drinking partner, now dead. The owners display no remorse for the death, echoing the town's moral numbness. When Mogie learns the truth, he goes to the family's house with a gun, but is talked down by a child who appears in the room.

Mogie dies of pneumonia shortly after his son Herbie's 18th birthday. Before dying, he writes a letter asking Rudy to take care of Herbie, cementing Rudy's obligation to the family. The loss compounds the film's themes of responsibility and community.

Rudy learns that the town's liquor store is being rebuilt with two drive-in windows. He buys a large can of red oil-based paint and drives to Mount Rushmore. He climbs to the top, confronts his Iktomi vision, and contemplates his plan before finally dumping the paint down the side of Washington's nose as a bloody tribute to Mogie. The moment fuses personal vengeance with national memory.

On the drive back, Rudy spots a hitchhiker who resembles Mogie in his youth and laughs, signaling a bittersweet, ambiguous ending. The film closes on a note of uneasy humor amid unresolved pain and healing. The presence of Iktomi lingers as a moral undercurrent.