FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
A SKIN TOO FEW: THE DAYS OF NICK DRAKE
“If you met a girl and took her back to her room, and if there were some Nick Drake records
there, you’ll probably want to marry her.” What better endorsement for a singer/songwriter than
this. Drake, born in Burma to an affluent British family, died at age 26 in 1974, having made
three albums. Over the decades, his music has gained a following. His older sister, the beautiful
and elegant Gabrielle, is featured among the interviews and offers the most prescient
observations on her sensitive brother - “I always felt that Nick was born with a skin too few.” The
love she has for her brother and parents comes through crystal clear. Drake’s melancholic
folk-rock songs, backed with rich arrangements, is a kindred spirit to the 1990s band Dead Can
Dance. His music and the picturesque footage of the English countryside dominate the
documentary, appropriately for - as he is described - a man of little words. The rolling hills and
villages are like a John Constable painting come to life, creating an irresistible pull for
Anglophiles. Overall, A Skin Too Few is a brief summary of Drake’s life. His history of
depression is only sketchily described by second-hand sources, but like his music, the film is not
imposing and quietly moving. Kent Turner
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