Mysterious Skin (2004)
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.
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.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 36,142
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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
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Cast
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Brady Corbet
Brian Lackey -
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Neil McCormick -
Michelle Trachtenberg
Wendy Peterson -
Jeff Licon
Eric Preston -
Bill Sage
Coach Heider -
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Avalyn Friesen -
Elisabeth Shue
Mrs. McCormick -
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Lisa Long
Mrs. Lackey -
Chris Mulkey
Mr. Lackey -
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Trieste Kelly Dunn
Blood Prom Cast/Crew -
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Mysterious Skin Trailer & Photos
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.
Top CriticAraki's best film in a long time.
The audience has gotten the point roughly 90 minutes before the characters do.
Manages to deal with its raw, awful subject matter in ways that are both challenging and illuminating.
This is a challenging and ultimately moving film that deserves to find a like-minded audience.
The usual Araki elements are here (hustlers, rebels, uproar, the absurd), but now he appears to be working with focus and compassion.
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.
a bizarre, beguiling coming-of-age drama
treads harrowing ground without falling into the pit of cliché
Araki's film is a wrenching examination of childhood trauma and abuse.
"Mysterious Skin" is a devastating yet beautiful film that honors its fragile characters with vital respect.
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.
This one clearly has more meat on the plate than Araki's earlier more shallow and sensationalistic films.
Gregg Araki nous offre son %u0153uvre la plus mature à ce jour.
Sensível e tristemente trágico, o filme é um doloroso estudo de personagens beneficiado por uma atuação estupenda de Gordon-Levitt.
Gordon-Levitt's performance is nothing short of astonishing.
This is Araki at his best. It is raw emotion, shown with dangerously careful eroticism, and true depth.
A raw and unadorned look at child abuse and its idiosyncratic repercussions.
Audience Reviews for Mysterious Skin
Super Reviewer
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- Mrs. McCormick: You'll always be my baby.
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- 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.
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- Wendy Peterson: I see the way you look at him.
- Eric Preston: He's so beautiful. I can't help it. He's like a god.
- 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.
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- Neil McCormick: I hate it when they look like Tarzan and sound like Jane.
Discussion Forum
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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.