Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 14:20:19

Gritty, Disturbing and Poignant

Very few "gay films" can claim to have an impact beyond mere fluff, but this film holds its own against many mainstream releases in terms of acting/character development/plot and production values. Gordin-Levitt does an amazing job as a troubled teen who is just trying to survive given the circumstances he was brought up in. I would highly recommend this film to anyone, gay or straight. I even recommended it to my family and they liked it as well.

jotix100 2012-05-24 21:23:51

Stolen hours....

Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin" is a film that dares to point out thelasting effects of what a pedophile will inflict on a young person thatwill last a whole lifetime. Mr. Araki has adapted Scott Heim's novelwith great style. In spite of the strong material presented in thefilm, it's never lewd or cheap, or in your face, that perhaps inanother director's hands could have been exploited for shock value.The film follows Neil, a young man who has been sexually abused by hislittle league coach. At the same time, there is a parallel story ofanother young man, Brian, who can't comprehend the way his life hasturned when something happened to him a long time ago without beingable to understand, having lost memory of a few hours in a fatefulsummer day years ago, when the same man abused him.In Brian's case, his life has been scarred because the trauma caused bythat monster to his young mind, has created havoc in his life. He isnot sexually active; sex does not seem to interest him. Not even ayoung woman, Avalyn, who is interested in him, is able to get himaroused. Avalyn takes Brian to see a dead cow, in a scene that issomething not to be believed, that holds part of the hidden secret thistroubled soul is carrying with him.Neil, who had a boyish crush on the coach, grows up fully aware he isgay. Neil is sexually active in the little Kansas town he lives. Theonly outlet for him is to follow Wendy, his best friend, to New York,where he becomes a male hustler practicing what appears to beunprotected sex, and at the end being beaten by an brutish trick thatalmost could have killed him.Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Neil. This young actor kept reminding us ofa young Keanu Reeves. Brady Corbet is Brian. Both young actors do anamazing work portraying their characters. Elizabeth Shue is seenbriefly as Neil's single mother. Michelle Trachtenberg and JeffreyLicon are seen as Wendy and Eric, who are Neil's best friends in thesmall town.This is an important film as it reveals to what extent some people willgo to harm and corrupt small children. Mr. Araki is to be congratulatedfor bringing the story to the screen.

2012-05-18 03:29:27

One of Araki's most brutal accomplishments!

I received both the DVD and the musical score to "Mysterious Skin" for christmas this year. This one is truly another masterpiece. I feel brutalized having watched it. So much of this movie is incredibly hard to swallow but also contains many stark truths about the consequences of early child abuse. Joseph Gordon Levitt's character actually makes this movie ten times harder to watch because you really see the harshest of these realities running rampant in his character. Every aspect of this character will make you feel incredibly vulnerable and torment that soft spot within you. The ending of this picture had me holding myself as if I had been beaten from every possible angle and left to my agony. If you know Greg Araki and his past films, this one will hit you in a spot you may never thought you had. If you don't know Greg Araki, I'd soften up on another one of his films before you pick this one up. Either way, be definetely sure to pick this one up!

pandabearkt 2012-05-17 06:15:56

Very disturbing.

We watched this under the advice that, if we liked K-Pax we'll likethis movie. Under normal circumstances, I can handle a lot of movieplots and concepts, but was not prepared for this. I wasted almost 2hours of my life on this because someone said it was a 'Must See'...READ THE SPOILERS BEFORE WATCHING THIS MOVIE! If you are are a parent, if you've had things 'done' to you when youwere little, if you think it has anything to do with aliens, or if youhave a soul, this movie is not for you.Yes, the acting was great, but character development went a littlefarther than it should have. Disgustingly so.

Philip Chandler 2012-05-15 08:44:33

Hope and love at the end of the movie......

People have commented on the brilliance of this movie, and I will notflog a dead horse by contributing yet another rave review (althoughthis movie certainly deserves every accolade imaginable). I would liketo focus on a scene of extraordinary power and beauty -- a scene inwhich Neil undergoes a transformation and actually demonstrates whatappears to me to be genuine love and concern for the poor, damaged soulthat he recognizes in Brian.At the end of the movie, Brian insists on knowing everything -- severaltimes, he tells Neil not to stop, but to continue, despite the factthat he is obviously sinking deeper and deeper into a morass of agonyand grief with each word that Neil utters. Neil talks softly, and Briandissolves into a sea of shame and pain, sliding down on the sofa untilhis head is cradled in Neil's lap. Neil -- the hardened, street-wisehustler -- strokes Brian's face softly, and is there for Brian at thiscrucial juncture. For the first time in the movie, I saw Neil expresscompassion and kindness towards another human being. This could soeasily have been because Neil felt guilt -- but that is not the emotionthat I read in that scene. I saw the movie end on a note of hope. It isperhaps asking too much to believe that Neil and Brian form arelationship -- but I felt, when watching that scene, that the twocharacters had a chance of forming a bond in which each character couldprovide the other character with what was so desperately lacking....Am I alone in noticing this scene of extraordinary tenderness on Neil'spart, and on his willingness to let down his guard completely and to doeverything possible to cushion Brian from the shock of finding out whathad happened to him during those five crucial hours, so long ago? Thehardened hustler finally showed the audience that he had a heart, andthat this heart was not the great black void that another character haddescribed it as being.What do other viewers think of this scene? Were you as moved by thisscene I as was? Comments would certainly be appreciated? What wereNeil's motives in being so kind and so tender?

stensson 2012-05-14 22:08:39

Genial skin

Gregg Araki seems to be one more of these great American talents whomake some independent films and after that don't do any more films atall or has to surrender to the Hollywood studio system. Araki has done"Mysterious Skin" and that is a brilliant career in itself.There are three scenes that you will remember through all your movielife. 1) The boy and girl at the drive-in-cinema, 2) The back of theAIDS-sick man, 3) The reconciliation at the end. One of your greatpains in life will always be not being given another chance to changethe past. But even worse is the fact that you even weren't there at alland because of that couldn't prevent the catastrophe.Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are two incredible young actors.They definitely have a future inside or outside Hollywood.

Steven Smith 2012-05-06 23:22:42

Frighteningly real.

As much as I enjoyed this movie and couldn't stop watching as the storyunfolded, I wouldn't put myself through this again. It leaves mefeeling extremely weird and uncomfortable. I guess that's indicative ofa truly great movie though. Movies that can invoke a powerful emotionalresponse in the viewer must be doing something right - and this filmcertainly does that. I must say this movie is very, very disturbing andshocking. What makes this movie so powerful and real is the fact thesestories actually happen in our world and are experienced by peopleeveryday. It's horrifying, in every sense of the word. I won't watchthis film again, but I'll certainly never forget it that's for sure.

2012-05-06 12:03:15

Brilliant and disturbing.

I had wanted to see this film for some time, but kept putting it off. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Neil McCormick who is seduced by his Little league baseball coach when he is eight years old. He develops into the small mid town (Hutchinson) gay whore. He is clearly marked by the whole affair but felt as though he was truly loved. The story rides along side that of Bryan Lackey who has suffered blackouts and nose bleeds since he was eight. He feels that he may have been abducted by aliens and sets off on a path of discovery that leads to Neil. Meanwhile Neil has run off to be with his fag hag soul mate in New York. This all sounds like a basic plot but the story unfolds in such a way to make the 140 minutes drift by. With an 18 cert this is a challenging film, with scenes depicting paedophile activity as well as gay sex on occasion through out the film. It is a story of how children can be changed and ruined by abuse and how different people chose to handle severe trauma of this nature. It is also a very human tale which is told with great care and even warmth. It is even funny in places. This is not a typical gay film, and if you are looking for cute boys etc, then you are probably best to avoid. I found it moving, disturbing, but ultimately rewarding. For those interested in the subject there is an excellent auto biography called `The Tricky The Tricky Part: A boy's story of sexual trespass, a man's journey to forgiveness, which I found to be a revealing and honest account of a similar child hood.

2012-05-05 10:05:46

THIS IS GREG ARAKI'S BEST FILM YET

Simply because he directed it but didn't write it. Araki's other films are engaging but flounder under the wildly disjointed scripts that Araki penned himself. Araki finally comes into his own by adapting Scott Heim's equally engrossing and disturbing novel for the big screen with outstanding results.If Araki sticks to adapting gay writer's novels for the big screen he will be an even greater force to be reckoned with. I would love to see him adapt some Dennis Cooper.

2012-05-05 02:31:25

WHOA intense movie

WHOA.. this movie is extremely intense.. so much so that I couldn'teven finish watching the movie.. The movie is an extremely chillingaccount of child abuse and it is so realistic that it made my insideshurt.The main reason why I watch this movie is because I am a huge fan ofJoseph Gordon Levitt. JGL does not disappoint with his acting and thisperformance proved he is a rising star. This performance reminds me ofanother great actor in Leonardo Dicaprio and his amazing performance in"The Basketball Diaries." Not only JGL, but the other actors are greatespecially the children.. OMG I was so relieved to read that thechildren were purposely given a different script to shield them fromthe horrors of the child abuse.Overall, great acting and a great screenplay, but DAMN this was toomuch for me and trust me.. I love all types of movies, but this onetakes the cake as one of the most INTENSE movies ever..

2012-04-27 15:59:22

Harrowing tale of child abuse you cant take your eyes off of

This was one of the best films of 2005. All of the actors are outstanding, but Joseph Gordon Levitt really carries the film in a breakout performance both haunting, sexy and tender in his realism.This is independent American film at its best- very absorbing, it lingers in your mind for days even months afterwards.

Superarcadia 2012-04-27 05:23:34

Grand Applause for Gregg Araki!

These comments contain some spoilers… I saw Mysterious Skin last nightand thought it was terrific. Mr. Araki gets my applause! It's artistslike Araki who demystify child abuse, thereby making an open exchangepossible for those who find it difficult to be talk about. I especiallythought Neil's friend Eric was poignant in regards to his compassiontoward everyone, and the understanding that Eric is wholly gay and aforeigner to the experiences of sexual abuse. Eric is disturbed byNeil's behaviors and wants nothing more then to see his friend be happyand healthy. It was great the way Neil and Brian were able to sneakinto Mr. pedophile baseball coach's house; Neil helps Brian decipherthe real alien abduction, and they're—in a very minor way—getting backat their "coach", giving him a little of his vileness.

2012-04-23 03:23:07

like being hit on the head with a frying pan

I agree with the reviewer who said he felt brutalized after seeing this movie. This is one of the most intense movies I 've ever seen. Unlike most recent movies where I forget about them as soon as I leave the theater, this movie really stuck with me. I expected this to be like Araki's other movies, titilating and funny but not very meaningful. Boy, was I suprised. I also was expecting very little from that 3rd Rock From the Sun boy. However, he was amazing. Same with Michelle T. Unfortunately I got flashbacks about Mysterious Skin everytime I saw a preview for her inane ice skating movie. Talk about a variety in movie roles. Anyway, this movie also has one of the most horrific rape scenes ever filmed, right up there with The Accused and Deliverence. This is not an easy movie to watch, but it is worth watching.

Bryan Hargrave 2012-04-22 18:29:31

A brave, wide-eyed look at a controversial subject

I have a feeling that most of the reviewers here have not read the textof "Mysterious Skin" by Scott Heim. Doing so would be most helpful inviewing this film.Out of sheer luck, I happened to find a screening in Las Vegas, almosta year after the initial release, having finished the book only one daybefore. It was an interesting experience from the start.One got the feeling of stepping into an adult cinema, instead of asemi-mainstream release. I was surrounded by sprinkling of older guyswatching an NC-17 matinée. A first for me, for sure. The movie capturesthe feel of the book spot on. Director Araki should be commended forstaying so close to the text. Hardly anything was left out and what wasdeleted did not detract from the storyline in the least.Heim's novel deals with subject matter that most people would prefer todeny exists. But back here in the real world, it does. On screen we seethe sensualization of an 8 year old boy, along with his sexual fantasy.Not for the squeamish, but Araki communicates this brilliantly withoutdiluting the message. Most people would shy away from a story that hasan 8 year old boy having an orgasm as he watched his mother haveintercourse, but Araki does not. And somehow he makes it okay.Hats off to the boys cast as the young Neil and Brian. Chase Ellisoncaptures the emotions of his character very well. He captures thedarkness of Neil McCormick incredibly, and translates perfectly fromthe written page. We sense the confusion turning into acceptance andthen, desire. It made me squirm in my seat. George Webster as youngBrian is great.I can't imagine a lot of actors lining up to play the boylover coach,but Bill Sage does very well. In the story, his role doesn't seem likea pure predator, but clearly he has devices at work. He's in the rightplace at the right time.Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a marvel is this film. There was a genuinequality to his character, an aloofness that comes with knowledge at anearly age that is hard to put into words. Brady Corbett successfullybrought his youthful character along, and I think his interactions withthe other characters is spot on for someone who had had an experiencelike his.Critics will say that this film glorifies pedophilia. I disagree. Ithink it shows the effects of pedophilic relationship on differentpeople, and how they react to it. It is a slice of life, albeit a verydark one, that does occur each and every day. Approach with caution andan open mind.

2012-04-20 07:10:58

Painfully Beautiful

This review is from: Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition) (DVD) There is so much to say about this film, it is so painful and it hurts so much to watch the destruction that enfolds but it's like a car wreck you can't help but to rubberneck. Not much i can say that wont give away the pictures many twists and turns but i will say that each actor gives it their all.Joseph Gordon-Levitt proved to me why he is my favorite actor. I felt pain for the characters and anger and hope and every other emotion like a good film should deliver upon viewing. This Earned a Spot in my Top Ten easily.

Icecold-Killa 2012-04-20 04:38:40

A powerful, tragic, hard-hitting movie that takes the audience through an emotional wave.

This film is one of those films that tells it how it is! It paints apicture of teens in the struggle, the real struggle, that usually isn'tfocused on this well in other films. It's real, gritty and verypowerful. There's some strong issues in the film that make you thinkabout what some teens go through at such a young age. It's aninteresting contrast between the two teen boys dealing with what'shappened to them. The actors in this movie are very good too. All theyounger characters are very good at acting out the many serious roleswithin this movie. This films a must see for those who likehard-hitting, tragic teen movies! On a serious note, after i watchedthis movie it made me think about and become more aware of how muchsuffering some children have to go through whilst growing up at such ayoung age. My heart goes out to those children, stay strong, keep yourhead up and don't be afraid to tell another adult who you can trust.

frankgaipa 2012-04-17 12:57:51

What It's Not

I used to define a broad range as but-I-don't-belong-to-the-club films.The issue wasn't so much subject matter as presentation. These filmsspeak most successfully to viewers who share the filmmaker's worldview, vocabulary, anger, joy, politics, or whatever. An extreme examplemight be an angrily pro-creationist film. But given films withidentical subject matter, one will be a "club" film, while anotherfascinates. I know some feminist efforts have been "club," yet onlymemory prevents me rattling off dozens that were sublime (Citizen Ruthand Baise moi, both sublime, surface I'm not sure why). One whose nameI should but can't recall, extremely well thought of, about generationsof black women on an Atlantic coast island afforded me little entrythough I think I tried a second time or third time on TV. On the otherhand, the 2004 doc, A Doula Story, about a near saintly woman assistingbirths in dour West Chicago thrilled me beyond words. Mel Gibson'soffer of righteous suffering I declined. Trailers for third-rateromantic comedies, African-American, gay, or whatever, make me cringe,not because of their subject matter but because they're third rate ornot even third rate, because their makers fail to achieve universality.Others, African-American, gay, religious, feminist, whatever, start thevery same places, but do achieve it.Mysterious Skin surfaced as the third and final entry in a "Sneaks"program at this year's SFIFF. Festival goers took their seats todiscover each film's title only after the lights went down. Before thesecond Sneak, a slightly goofy journalist passing up and down the aisletelling people "It's Star Wars!" had another woman so disappointed shewas ready to bolt. That sneak turned out to be Carroll Ballard'sbeautiful Dula, so order returned.I don't know whether Araki's ever made a "club" film. Haven't seen theothers. But when the lights went down on Mysterious skin, his name andreputation had me thinking it an oddly un-middle-of-the-road selectionfor a blind sneak. I've been so naive that I left high school withoutknowing what the routine homophobic playground taunts actually meant.Mishima's Confessions of Mask had the same science-fictiony value asKobo Abe's novels (perhaps most significantly here "Face of Another").Proust's Marcel, at least my first time through in Moncrieff's English,seemed such a homophobe in his descriptions of Charlus, and hisexperiences of Albertine, Gilberte, and the "jeunes filles en fleurs"were so comprehensible to me, that I still balk at gay-lit Proust.But no way is Mysterious Skin a "club" film. It's graphic, in the senseof what is portrayed but not what is shown. It's maybe a little aliento someone like me, but alien in a way that makes its science fictionanalogy ingenious and sublime. Joseph Gordon-Levitt comes across withsuch acuity that it took me a good while to remember he was, relativelyspeaking, the comic straight man of the Third Rock family.Maybe that's enough, the message that it's not a "club" film but onethat as many as can bear it should see.

2012-04-16 19:22:27

Where most people have a heart, Neil has a bottomless black hole

Having read Scott Heim's novel Mysterious Skin several years ago, I was always intrigued by the story's initial premise and I wondered at the time whether a film of the novel could ever be made. I'm pleased to report that maverick director Gregg Araki has certainly outdone himself in bringing this haunting world of child sexual abuse world, homoerotic ecstasy, broken down lives, and possible redemption to life.Araki has delivered his most challenging, disturbing and moving film to date; it's a startling and provocative piece of cinema that will no doubt go down as one of the years best, but will also be remembered for its stark and persuasive indictment of the horrors inflicted on children by sexual abuse. This finely acted; marvelously constructed, and expertly paced movie is about the lives of two Kansas boys and the long aftermath of their separate seductions by a pedophile baseball coach (Bill Sage). The film follows Brian Lackey (Brady Corbet) and Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) from age eight to eighteen. During this time, Brian - who has somehow confused his seduction with dreams of abduction by UFO's - becomes a dreamy, reclusive, and repressed introvert. He spends his days writing about space aliens in his diary holed up in his suburban home with his kindly but smothering mother (Lisa Long).Neil however, grows into a magnetic teen hustler with a cocky, what-the-hell attitude, recklessly navigating his way through a twilight zone of sex for pay. He cruises the local parks hooking up with older men - the first, a portly and mustached traveling snack-food salesman, who has the word Daddy hanging from his rear-view mirror - and his transactions with him, and most of the other men in the town, are reminders of his butch, masculine Coach and perhaps his efforts to take tardy revenge on him. The boys are both linked by their involvement in the local Little League and the fact that both were seduced, at eight, by their amoral coach. Brian has blotted it from memory, but Neil is ensnared in a protracted affair that leads to a career in New York as a male whore. While Brian is able to keep his rage contained somewhere in the depths of his memory, and even befriends Avalyn Friesen (Mary Lynn Rajskub) as a crippled self-avowed alien abductee, Neil is affectless, remote and casually self-destructive, but also charismatic and cool enough to keep Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg) and another friend, Eric (Jeff Licon), on his side, along with his doting, self-indulgent mother (Elisabeth Shue). From the beginning, we suspect a connection between the boys' experiences, and part of the film's narrative momentum comes from their rediscovery of each other after 10 years. Brian is determined to find out what really happened in his past, and what the explanations are for his unexplained nose bleeds. He embarks on a journey to try and find Neil as he is convinced that his young baseball colleague can unlock the secrets of his past. Neil meanwhile, learns some hard lessons about life while living in New York. It's a complex and provocative story, but Araki tells it with daring, boldness, and a shimmering lucidity. Yes, this is a movie about pedophilia, but it is never exploitative or offensive. Yet evil and danger lurk in every corner for these boys and the director is steadily able to build up this nightmare quality, especially of Neil's first encounters. The images stay hard and are stunningly bright even as Mysterious Skin turns darker and moves onto more dangerous ground. The boys Coach is an affable, breezy, and engaging monster with a hunky attractive all American boy exterior, with Araki presenting him as a conscienceless, and practiced predator.The cast is uniformly brilliant, with each actor unsmilingly nailing their character's insecurities, hopes, and dreams. This film is a gorgeous, heartbreaking and utterly convincing work of art that conveys a shadowy and forbidden world with both compassion and terror. Its characters stay with you, and by concentrating on the lives of two very different young men; it seems to effortlessly illuminate a period and a milieu. But Mysterious Skin is also about the Midwest, about friendship, about the connections and disconnections between love and sex, about how the accidents of childhood can reverberate throughout one's life, and all of it is handled with a precision, effortlessness, articulacy, and a rare generosity of spirit. Mike Leonard October 05.

Wayne Malin 2012-04-15 20:18:01

Fascinating...but brace yourself

Two young boys are sexually assaulted by their little league coach whenthey are around 8. Years later they are both suffering in differentways. Brian (Brady Corbet) is obsessed with aliens, has nosebleeds andblackouts. Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) enjoyed the experience and hasbecome a gay teenage hustler. Slowly they're starting to realize whathappened to them and things are falling apart...Sounds heavy and depressing (and it is) but also full of some veryfunny lines and situations. It also ends on a happy note. But this isdisturbing...the NC-17 rating is well-earned. There's non-stopswearing, nudity (all male), fairly graphic gay sex scenes and a rapewhich is just harrowing to watch. I admit I cringed a few times andalmost considered leaving but the movie was powerful and moving...butit shows no mercy in pushing its subject across. But what else can youexpect from Gregg Araki? I think he's a wonderful director and this hismost accomplished feature yet.The acting is superb--Corbet is heart-breaking to watch--he nails hischaracter perfectly (incredible acting for a 16 year old); MichelleTractenberg and Jeffrey Licon are just great as friends of Neil andit's good to see Elisabeth Shue in anything--although she's givennothing to do. Best of all is Gordon-Levitt--this was a very difficultrole but he pulls it off. Just incredible--you can't take your eyes offhim.Shattering, powerful, funny and moving--one of the years best films. Igive it a 10.

rosscinema 2012-04-15 11:38:39

Compelling Mysterious Skin

The general premise of this may be misleading to those who really don'tknow before hand what this is really about but this film deservescredit for not only tackling a difficult subject head on but by puttinga unique twist in the manner it tells it's story. This film opens inKansas with an 8 year old boy named Brian who suddenly finding himselfin the cellar of his home with a nose bleed and no idea how he gotthere. 10 years later Brian (Brady Corbet) believes that he wasabducted by aliens and that a tracking devise was implanted in his nosewhich would explain the frequent nose bleeds and fainting spells.*****SPOILER ALERT***** Brian used to play Little League with Neil(Joseph Gordon-Levitt) but he's lost contact with him over the yearsbut is trying to locate him with the hope that he can shed some lighton the 5 hours that still remain lost from his childhood memory. Neilis now a gay prostitute that hangs out in parks looking to be picked upby older men which is the result of being molested at the age of 8 byhis Little League coach (Bill Sage) although he insists this hadnothing to do with him being gay. Neil goes to New York City to staywith his friend Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg) and while the scare ofAIDS has made him wary he still ends up getting picked up by a man whobeats and rapes him. Meanwhile, Brian waits for Neil to come back homeand when he does he learns the brutal truth of those missing hours andthe reason for the constant nose bleeds.This is directed by Gregg Araki who has made films before dealing withthe theme of lost youth and young people trying to cope in the adultworld and this effort certainly deals with both of those issues. Whilenaturally there is no real graphic nudity in the scenes with thechildren the script still doesn't back down concerning what's actuallytaking place especially the scene with young Neil who performs"fisting" on his Little League coach. The script gives viewers adifferent angle on the child abuse theme by incorporating the UFOabduction plot line into the film and in one scene Brian and his motherlook out the window and watch a UFO fly over their neighborhood. Thisleads to a question...did Brian actually see a UFO or is this justsomething that his subconscious created? If it's fabricated than howdoes that explain his mother being there? Along with the strong subjectmanner their are two excellent performances that highlight this filmand Corbet has been talked about for the last few years as a risingstar and here he proves everyone correct in their assumption of histalent. With all due respect to Corbet the film belongs toGordon-Levitt who is nothing short of riveting in his role anddemonstrates a smooth transition from television to film and with hisastonishing performance he gives notice to future filmmakers that hecan handle tough material. Araki has stated in interviews that he'smore interested in music than films but I do hope he continues to writeand direct because he possesses a talent that's both edgy and uniqueand with this effort he's created an indelible impact.