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Mysterious Skin

  • 2004
  • Unrated
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
81K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,432
7
Chase Ellison and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin (2004)
Theatrical Trailer from TLA Releasing
Play trailer1:53
8 Videos
99+ Photos
Coming-of-AgePsychological DramaDrama

Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats... Read allTwo pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.Two pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.

  • Director
    • Gregg Araki
  • Writers
    • Gregg Araki
    • Scott Heim
  • Stars
    • Brady Corbet
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Elisabeth Shue
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    81K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,432
    7
    • Director
      • Gregg Araki
    • Writers
      • Gregg Araki
      • Scott Heim
    • Stars
      • Brady Corbet
      • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
      • Elisabeth Shue
    • 285User reviews
    • 151Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos8

    Mysterious Skin
    Trailer 1:53
    Mysterious Skin
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 1
    Clip 1:40
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 1
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 1
    Clip 1:40
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 1
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 3
    Clip 2:00
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 3
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 4
    Clip 1:32
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 4
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 5
    Clip 1:14
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 5
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 6
    Clip 2:11
    Mysterious Skin Scene: Scene 6

    Photos130

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    Top cast31

    Edit
    Brady Corbet
    Brady Corbet
    • Brian
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Neil
    Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Shue
    • Mrs. McCormick
    Chase Ellison
    Chase Ellison
    • Neil (age 8)
    George Webster
    George Webster
    • Brian (age 8)
    Rachael Nastassja Kraft
    • Deborah (age 12)
    • (as Rachael Kraft)
    Lisa Long
    Lisa Long
    • Mrs. Lackey
    Chris Mulkey
    Chris Mulkey
    • Mr. Lackey
    David Lee Smith
    David Lee Smith
    • Alfred
    Bill Sage
    Bill Sage
    • Coach
    Riley McGuire
    • Wendy (age 11)
    Ryan Stenzel
    • Stephen Zepherelli
    Richard Riehle
    Richard Riehle
    • Charlie
    Michelle Trachtenberg
    Michelle Trachtenberg
    • Wendy
    Larry Marko
    • Old man with scar
    Mary Lynn Rajskub
    Mary Lynn Rajskub
    • Avalyn Friesen
    Clover
    • Patches
    Jeffrey Licon
    Jeffrey Licon
    • Eric
    • (as Jeff Licon)
    • Director
      • Gregg Araki
    • Writers
      • Gregg Araki
      • Scott Heim
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews285

    7.680.5K
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    Featured reviews

    10PaulLondon

    A Masterpiece

    Araki has abandoned the nihilistic day-glo world of L.A teens to create his first truly great film. Indeed, by any standards, this film is magnificent. It follows two boys; one of whom was abused as a child and the other who believes that he was abducted by aliens' from childhood to their troubled later lives. The film has a visual beauty that pulls the viewer in even though the subject matter is both difficult and painful. The director pulls no punches in confronting the viewer with the horror of the situation but neither does he exploit it for tabloid style sensationalism. From the superb performances, the excellent and intelligent script, through to the inspired direction and stunning 'shoegazer' soundtrack this is a splendid film. I left the cinema deeply moved by what I had seen and can now only hope that Araki continues to work at this level of quality. Something quite special and a work of art
    9TennisW61-1

    Elegant Rawness

    MYSTERIOUS SKIN – REVIEW 7/6/05

    In his new film Greg Araki uses a prudent ploy to snag and reel you in: having the visuals effusively speak and the screenplay divulge the least amount of information necessary to keep the story evolving. Words can only reveal so much, while Araki's images display an almost unbearable amount of visceral material, exploiting vibrant color, alluring texture, dark and light, the brooding and harrowing eyes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the handsome modesty of Brady Corbet.

    The film resonates on a level of rawness unseen and unfelt since Cuesta's "L.I.E." or Solondz's "Storytelling." The film is jarringly penetrative and pervasive: the visuals in your mind play over repeatedly and the disconcerting but intellectually uplifting feeling "Mysterious Skin" infuses lies active long after you leave the theater. The film is not easy to digest. Seeing that there is pervasive sexual exposure between adults, as well as between adults and kids (though discreetly handled), this film will repulse many viewers. This film also had to be made.

    Neil (Gordon-Levitt) and Brian's (Corbet) story starts in the early 1980s when they are only eight-years-old. Neil's little league baseball coach initiates a sexual relationship, of which (most likely to the consternation of several audience members) Neil actually recounts a rosy-colored remembrance: he enjoyed it. Brian that same year describes how his perpetual and mysterious string of blackouts and bloody noses began one rainy night after a baseball game.

    The story moves forward to when Neil and Brian are at adolescence's conclusion. We discover that Neil has grown up to be both gay and a hustler, while asexual Brian's free time is taken up seeking the source of and resolution to his insoluble physical ailments. Brian soon deduces that aliens abducted him and meets a fellow abductee, Avalyn (Mary Lynn Rajskub), with whom he finds ephemeral solace.

    Neil and Brian's story act in parallel, moving forward and backward over time, but never disjointedly. Neil eventually moves to New York, while his pining friend Eric (Jeff Licon) actually befriends Brian and an endearing friendship ensues. Neil's (unappeasable) pursuit of everlasting male love ends in the most unlikely of places: back home. Brian's pursuit of the truth leads him to, predictably, Neil. Araki exquisitely handles the ending (not divulged here) with the appropriate effusion of tendered emotion by the two main actors (warning: though the film's trailer subtlety gives away the finish).

    I cannot give enough plaudits to the two male leads. A long way from "3rd Rock", Joe's sensuous flirtations and dynamic eyes mate well with Brady's tranquil, naive, yet profound, disposition. Brady's last scene with his character's father, as well as the climax, demonstrates his aptitude and assured longevity as an actor (beyond "Thunderbirds").

    "Mysterious Skin" evidences many matches made-in-heaven: from film and director to material and actor to music and film. The film is entirely amoral, but not immoral. It is also a difficult film to watch. Many will cast it aside as tripe and trash (along with other morally relative films), but those fortunate enough to engage themselves in the movie's discussion will revel in it long after the credits' close.
    10RackOutOfFocus

    Very strong movie with difficult content

    I had high hopes for this film, since I have been a big fan of the novel on which it is based. The film exceeded my expectations in every way. Although quite faithful to the book (with many lines of dialogue and narration moving straight from Scott Heim's poetic prose), the movie has more drive and focus and pulls you so far into the troubled characters. Credit for the movie's strength goes all around -- director Araki put his mark on the story without taking it over. He got uniformily good performances (and somehow managed to direct scenes that any reader of the book would have thought completely unfilmable). Kansas has never looked better, or more sinister. The music is used well throughout.

    And the acting is terrific. The two youngest leads, Chase Ellison and George Webster, were entirely convincing in their scenes (and I hope they feel proud of their work, seeing as how there's no way they'll get to see this movie until sometime next decade). Michelle Trachtenberg and Jeff Licon have fairly thankless roles, playing characters who are somewhat less clear and crucial in the film than their characters were in the book. But they don't sweat that, they just play what the screen play has them do, and they excel. Licon, especially, I think, although Trachtenberg is at a disadvantage, as her part is really pretty small.

    And for me, at least, I think Mary-Lynn Rajskub, Brady Corbet, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt give about as good performances as one can give. Rajskub is so good that she gives the other actors in the film a space to react that is almost visible. Corbet is quiet and intense; if his performance sometimes lacks motivation, it is probably deliberate, as his character is struggling with identity and memory. And as for Gordon-Levitt, man, that guy can act. I really have a hard time thinking of any acting performance ever that has affected me as much.

    It is a difficult story, although I felt it ends hopefully. Hopefully, you will agree. Content is very strong, although perhaps not NC-17 strong. Not for kids. Adults, if you can get past the 2nd scene, you can get through it, but there is a lot of outlawed sexuality and violence. It is painful to watch at times, but to me at least, that's because the actors and the director managed to immerse me in the characters.
    8Galina_movie_fan

    Neil: "I wished with all my heart we could just leave this world behind. Rise like two angels in the night and magically disappear. "

    Mysterious Skin (2004) directed by Gregg Araki is powerful, shocking and absolutely convincing in every detail movie about two teenagers that were deeply affected by the events of one long hot summer of their childhood; events that one of them could not forget and the other desperately tried to remember. Ten years later, their lives could not be more different - Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has became a gay hustler, cynical, manipulative but charismatic, while Brian (Brady Corbet), nervous and shy believes that he was abducted by the aliens for some strange experiments.

    The film like this requires very good performances from all cast members and it's got them from everybody but Gordon-Levitt is simply the shining star and I'll make sure from now on to check out all his new movies.
    10russell-sherman

    great film

    As a movie lover and social worker, I was really moved throughout this film - for most of this film - by the subject matter and by the powerful portrayal and production of these characters. Overall, this is a highly rated movie and one can only wonder at the mentality of persons in Australia who pushed for the banning of this film. This is a realistic account of the affects on the victims of child abuse and tells a compelling story of their plight. But don't expect a happy ending; there is some resolution but you know the battle continues and their struggle to overcome will go on. (I'm getting emotional again just thinking about the last scene.) I work with young people (15-25) who have been abused, often by their own parents, and placed into the care system. However, I have had clients who have then been abused in care as well. It is hard to reconcile such young people but gaining justice is quite central, as is a belief they are accepted and worthwhile human beings. Because they may have been sexually aroused during the abuse they can often feel guilty and to blame. They often internalise these feelings and depending on their personalities they will implode against themselves (drugs etc) and/or become de-sensitised to certain feelings and take risks. The boys in this film portray these two dichotomies and they do it very well. 10 stars.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Gregg Araki said in an NPR interview that he shot all of the scenes with the child actors in such a way that they did not know the sexual context of their abuse scenes, and only during editing did he make the movie appear to show children being abused or witnessing abuse.
    • Goofs
      There is a Metallica "St. Anger" sticker (with the "St." torn off) on the right rear fender of Eric's Gremlin in 1991. "St. Anger" wasn't released until 2003.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Neil: [narration voice-over] 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.

    • Crazy credits
      The movie title is displayed at the start of the film (at 0:01:56) spaced out as M-YS-TERIOUS S-K-I-N.
    • Alternate versions
      The 2005 film reviews generally list a 99 minute run-time. The British Board of Film Classification, bbfc.co.uk, rated the uncut 105m 19s film as 18 on 5/20/2005. The 3/20/2006 "Unrated Director's Edition" Strand Releasing DVD has a 104m 59s run-time, but its case lists a 99m length; it is also anamorphic 853x479 pixels format (1.78:1 aspect) but the case lists Letterboxed. The Internet Movie Database technical specifications list a 107 min Sundance Channel Library Print, but on Sundance.com Sundance TV lists a 105 minutes run-time.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Lords of Dogtown/Mysterious Skin/Rock School/Batman Begins (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Golden Hair
      Written by Syd Barrett

      Performed by Slowdive

      Courtesy of SINE a division of Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Limited

      Used by permission of BMG Music Publishing International o/b/o Lupus Music Company Ltd.

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 24, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Netherlands
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Piel misteriosa
    • Filming locations
      • 5500 Atlas St, Los Angeles, California, USA(Trick or Treat house)
    • Production companies
      • Antidote Films (I)
      • Desperate Pictures
      • Fortissimo Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $713,240
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $17,425
      • May 8, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,532,932
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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