It was back in July that we first wrote about Ben Aston's crowdfunding campaign for his short film project
He Took His Skin Off For Me. Adapted from a short story by Maria Hummer it picks one hell of a striking image to sum up the lengths that couples will go to to appease one another and the resentments that inevitably accrue as a result.
"Is this what you want? he asked, and I said yes, so he took his skin off for me."
He
hangs the loose skin in the closet and comes downstairs to join his
girlfriend at the dinner table. This whole thing seems like a good idea.
He's become what she always wanted him to be. But it's not all
perfect. It's the small things. The stains. She has to wash the sheets
every day. At night he gets cold, so they have to turn up the heat. This
means more bills. And gas isn't cheap...
In fact, money
is more of a problem than ever. He's losing clients at work and they
begin to fight about it. She tells him they're the wrong clients anyway.
Old friends come over for dinner, but the party does not go well. He is
quiet and withdrawn. The house is covered in stains - more than she can
possibly clean. They stop talking. The silence is deafening. She begins
to worry that he resents her. He does.
Now through production Aston has released a first teaser for the film and it's a beautifully subtle, remarkably evocative bit of work. Take a look below.