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Mysterious Skin (2004)

tomatometer

84

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 101
Fresh: 85 | Rotten: 16

Bold performances and sensitive, spot-on direction make watching this difficult tale of trauma and abuse a thought-provoking, resonant experience.

90

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 3

Bold performances and sensitive, spot-on direction make watching this difficult tale of trauma and abuse a thought-provoking, resonant experience.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 36,142

My Rating

Movie Info

Two young men are haunted by similar events from their past, though the effects manifest themselves in very different ways, in this powerful drama from independent filmmaker Gregg Araki. In the summer of 1981, Brian (George Webster) and Neil (Chase Ellison) are both eight years old and playing on the same little league baseball team in a small Kansas town. One day, after a game, Brian blacks out after getting caught in a rainstorm, and five hours later he finds himself sitting in his basement

NC-17,

Art House & International, Drama

Gregg Araki, Scott Heim

Oct 25, 2005

$0.5M

Tartan Films/TLA Releasing - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (111) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (89) | Rotten (16) | DVD (15)

Gone is the gloomy nihilism of The Doom Generation and The Living End, replaced by a melancholy, but hopeful, affection toward people with the capacity to overcome tremendous psychological trauma.

July 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Miami Herald
Miami Herald
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Araki's best film in a long time.

July 22, 2005 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
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The audience has gotten the point roughly 90 minutes before the characters do.

July 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comments (2)
Arizona Republic
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Manages to deal with its raw, awful subject matter in ways that are both challenging and illuminating.

July 21, 2005
Philadelphia Inquirer
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This is a challenging and ultimately moving film that deserves to find a like-minded audience.

July 1, 2005 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News
Dallas Morning News
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The usual Araki elements are here (hustlers, rebels, uproar, the absurd), but now he appears to be working with focus and compassion.

June 24, 2005 Full Review Source: Boston Globe
Boston Globe
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By exploring the taboo topic of paedophilia in a humanist manner that avoids sensationalising or heavy-handed verdicts, Araki's eloquent, sensitive film actually presents an indictment far stronger than any moral grandstander ever could.

November 7, 2012 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia
Empire Magazine Australasia

a bizarre, beguiling coming-of-age drama

August 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer
Cinema Writer

treads harrowing ground without falling into the pit of cliché

September 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

Araki's film is a wrenching examination of childhood trauma and abuse.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

"Mysterious Skin" is a devastating yet beautiful film that honors its fragile characters with vital respect.

April 15, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

Even with the numb dialogue and trite characterizations we've come to expect from Araki, Mysterious Skin might have worked with the right actor in the charismatic role of Neil.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comments (4)
Film Journal International

This one clearly has more meat on the plate than Araki's earlier more shallow and sensationalistic films.

July 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Gregg Araki nous offre son %u0153uvre la plus mature à ce jour.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Panorama

Sensível e tristemente trágico, o filme é um doloroso estudo de personagens beneficiado por uma atuação estupenda de Gordon-Levitt.

January 3, 2006
Cinema em Cena

Gordon-Levitt's performance is nothing short of astonishing.

November 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness
Lessons of Darkness

This is Araki at his best. It is raw emotion, shown with dangerously careful eroticism, and true depth.

November 26, 2005 Full Review Source: International Press Academy
International Press Academy

A raw and unadorned look at child abuse and its idiosyncratic repercussions.

October 30, 2005 Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews

Audience Reviews for Mysterious Skin

Deeply touching, endlessly beautiful and horribly heartbreaking film from director/writer Gregg Araki. Mysterious Skin is a work that succeeds in being a horrifying and tender at the same time. This is a art that will linger in your mind for days maybe even months.
Somehow Mysterious Skin reminds me of those innocent and endless mystical childhood summers that were full of magic and seemed never ending. With wonderful musical support from Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie, this film touches something ethereal and otherworldly.
Araki's power lies in his ability to mix such a terrifying subject matter with oddly beautiful mood and images. The result is deeply disturbing and touching at the same time. One of the most astounding elements here is the wonderful performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is a revelation in his lead role.
When the film's heartbreaking finale comes, it will most likely shake you to the core. You feel bruised and hurt after this one is over and yet you get this feeling that you've seen something truly beautiful and unique. This is brave and important work of art from Araki who should now be considired as a major filmmaker and one of the greatest directors alive.
July 7, 2009
emilkakko

Super Reviewer

Mysterious Skin has an interesting idea for its plot, and frankly is a pretty disturbing film. The film has an engaging story and a good cast. At the center of the film is Joseph Gordon Levitt in the role of Neil McCormick, who is a homosexual hustler and has had a dark childhood by being sexually assaulted by his pedophile baseball coach. Mysterious Skin then follows Neil on his quest to finding what actually happened those many years ago, as many of those events were a blur. The film is terrific, but as I've said it's also fairly disturbing. The cast do a fine job here and the story has enough momentum to keep you entertained, eve3n though it's fairly slow, the story is always engaging and dramatic. Actor Joseph Gordon Levitt is excellent in the role of Neil, and he really brings out one of his best performances. I felt that Levitt added a certain a certain cocky innocence to character. Mysterious Skin is a well crafted film by director Greg Araki, however because of its story; it won't appeal to many viewers. This is really the type of film that can divide an audience. Despite the subject matter, Mysterious Skin is a solid film with minimal flaws. The great cast and directing keep this film afloat and everyone involved really make this a good film. Mysterious Skin is a terrific drama film that you shouldn't pass up on, love it or hate it, this is a powerful film.
October 14, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

    1. Mrs. McCormick: You'll always be my baby.
    – Submitted by Lillian H (4 months ago)
    1. Neil McCormick: And as we sat there listening to the carolers, I wanted to tell Brian it was over now and everything would be okay. But that was a lie, plus, I couldn't speak anyway. I wish there was some way for us to go back and undo the past. But there wasn't. There was nothing we could do. So I just stayed silent and trying to telepathically communicate how sorry I was about what had happened. And I thought of all the grief and sadness and fucked up suffering in the world, and it made me want to escape. I wished with all my heart that we could just leave this world behind. Rise like two angels in the night and magically... disappear.
    – Submitted by Nikoleta P (9 months ago)
    1. Wendy Peterson: I see the way you look at him.
    2. Eric Preston: He's so beautiful. I can't help it. He's like a god.
    3. Wendy Peterson: You don't have to tell me, I was infatuated with him too once. But I know all Neil's secrets and there's shit there...you don't even want to know about. Trust me. Once I'm gone, you'll be all Neil has...and you have to understand one thing. Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick's has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out, you can fall in and get lost forever.
    – Submitted by viktor g (12 months ago)
    1. Neil McCormick: I hate it when they look like Tarzan and sound like Jane.
    – Submitted by Sara H (16 months ago)

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