Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)
by Gregg Araki
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brady Corbet, Chase Ellison, Elisabeth Shue, George Webster, Joseph Gordon-LevittDirector: Gregg Araki
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Strand Releasing
Movie Reviews of Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)
Movie Review: a mind-blowing experience
Summary: 5 Stars
A must-see masterpiece, "Mysterious Skin" is Gregg Araki's brave, brilliant and soul-shattering film about that touchiest of all subjects - pedophilia. Based on the novel by Scott Heim, "Mysterious Skin" is brutally frank and honest in its approach to the topic, forcing us to face the issue head-on without comforting filters and without concern for offending audience sensibilities. Yet, it is a supremely humane film, illuminating the darkest corners of its characters' psyches in an effort to help us better come to terms with the devastating consequences of this sadly all-too-common tragedy.
Set in a small town in Kansas in the early 1980's, the story focuses on two seemingly unrelated youngsters: Neil, who knows he's gay at a very young age and turns to male prostitution at the age of 15, and Brian, who starts experiencing strange, unaccounted-for "blackouts," which he naively attributes to his being abducted by UFOs. But the boys share a far more sinister past, inextricably linked together by a molestation experience that continues to haunt them and that has marked and scarred them in radically different ways.
Because of its refusal to flinch at or turn away from the sordid reality of its subject matter, "Mysterious Skin" is not a film everybody will be able to sit through. It is ugly and harsh and almost impossible to watch at times, for there is no denying that what it shows us is deeply and profoundly disturbing and that it disgusts and offends us - as indeed it should - at the very core of our beings as humans. Yet this is no cheesy exploitation film, but rather a heartfelt and compassionate work of art that makes us see the horror of the situation in a truly empathetic way. We come to care very deeply for these boys as we are forced to see what it is they're going through and to share in their pain.
Moreover, Heim and Araki have populated their world with unforgettable characters, all beautifully enacted by first rate performers: Michelle Trachtenberg as Neil's closest friend, Wendy, the one anchor of support Neil can count on to always be there for him even in his darkest moments; Jeffrey Licon as Eric, a gay teen with a warm heart whose unrequited love for Neil provides some of the most touching moments of the film; Mary Lynn Rajskub as a sad and lonely young woman also convinced that she has been abducted by aliens and who reaches out to Brian in love and friendship; Elizabeth Shue as Neil's well-meaning but tragically self-centered mother whose carelessness in leaving Neil alone with his coach is the catalyst that gets the tragedy rolling; and Bill Sage, in a very brave turn as the coach himself, whose actions have far-reaching consequences for both the boys involved. Without exception, all these actors, including the ones playing Neil and Brian as children, turn in mesmerizing, stellar performances.
But the real acting honors go to Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet, two extraordinary young men who, as Neil and Brian, make a tremendous mark on our hearts. Gordon-Levitt, in particular, is phenomenal in capturing the many moods of his character, beautifully conveying the sweet innocence that lies so deeply buried under a harsh, unemotional exterior that even his closest friends have a hard time locating it. Corbet is also terrific as the nerdish Brian, a good-natured lad who slowly but surely comes to remember and understand the devastating event that has shaped and defined his life.
The movie shows how, in Neil's case, the early childhood experience has made it impossible for him to view sex as anything but a "business transaction," thus explaining his turn towards prostitution. He acts out his anger and confusion by indulging in self-destructive behaviors and by shutting himself off from any kind of rich emotional attachments with anyone other than his platonic friend Wendy. Brian, for his part, has responded by becoming, essentially, asexual, a means of subconsciously recoiling from the personal violation that occurred to him as a child and of avoiding having it ever happen to him again. Their final scene together, in which long-festering wounds are at last opened and the "healing" begun, is devastating and unforgettable in its power and intensity.
For, despite the darkness of the subject matter, "Mysterious Skin" is, finally, an optimistic, hopeful film, one that acknowledges the power of self-acceptance in making a fractured person whole again. Beautifully written and directed by Araki, "Mysterious Skin" provides a heartbreaking experience that will burrow its way into the deepest recesses of your heart and stay with you for a very long time. It is one of the few truly great films of the past several years, a complete work of art. See it.
Summary of Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)
Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 03/24/2006 Rating: NrThough the subject matter of Mysterious Skin is as sensational as that of Gregg Araki's other films (such as Totally F***ked Up, The Doom Generation, or The Living End), his direction is richer and more multilayered than ever before. Two Kansas teenagers named Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 10 Things I Hate About You) and Brian (Brady Corbett, Thirteen) share a childhood trauma--but their responses are radically different: Neil hustles tricks, while Brady, who can't remember what happened, believes he was abducted by aliens and left with "missing time." As both try to make sense of their lives and Brian struggles to find out the truth, Mysterious Skin builds to an emotional pitch that some viewers will find uncomfortable and others will find liberating. The characters of Neil and Brian have a fullness that lifts Mysterious Skin above most examinations of sexual abuse and trauma. Gordon-Levitt has been deservedly praised by the critics, but the entire cast--which also includes Bill Sage (Simple Men), Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24)--turns in superb performances. A striking and powerful movie. --Bret Fetzer
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