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Mysterious Skin

  • 2004
  • Unrated
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
81K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,425
254
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
    1,425
    254
    • 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

    8claudio_carvalho

    The Past Is Irreversible, Can Not Be Undone

    In 1981, in Hutchinson, Kansas, the eight years old boy Neil McCormick is sexually abused by his pedophile baseball coach and his deranged and promiscuous mother does not pay attention. Meanwhile, the also eight years Brian Lackey awakes from a brief amnesia of four hours with a bleeding nose, but his negligent father does not pay attention to the event. Brian grows-up believing he had been abducted by aliens. The gay Neil grows-up as a hustler. When Brian is eighteen years old, he looks for and meets Neil, who discloses dark innermost secrets of their past.

    "Pedophilia" is one of the most unpleasant themes to make a movie, and I recently saw an excellent film called "The Woodsman" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361127/usercomments-134), about a child molester trying to have a normal life after twelve years in prison. "Mysterious Skin" approached the same theme, but through the eyes of the victims, showing how irreversible this crime might be, due to negligence of the parents. The powerful story is very impressive, with a awesome performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt that deserved an Oscar nomination. The direction of the unknown (for me) Gregg Araki is amazing, and the actors and actress are simple magnificent. This movie was presented in the "Festival de Cinema do Rio de Janeiro" ("Rio de Janeiro Cinema Festiva"l and in the "29ª Mostra BR de Cinema de São Paulo" ("29th Exhibition BR of Cinema in São Paulo"). My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "Mistérios da Carne" (Mystery of the Flesh")
    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
    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.
    8pygar61

    An engrossing and challenging experience

    Not since HAPPINESS has such a difficult subject been tackled head on! Without spoiling any of the film, I will just say that I was engrossed in the film, shocked at how far the director was able to go, and heartened by how many issues he was able to raise, and show so many possible effects of what the characters go through. There were so many situations in this film that I had never seen portrayed before, that this proves how much film-makers avoid so many issues.

    A familiar, likable cast are taken deep into dark territory. I enjoyed all the performances and believed the characters, even though I had seen all the actors before on TV. The music is just wonderful - from the guy behind The Cocteau Twins - it adds to the dreamlike/nightmarish quality of the film. It's unusual enough to add to the uniqueness of this film - it really is ground-breaking - and Robin Guthrie's music/The Cocteau Twins haven't been used before in movies (though you may have recognised Liz Fraser's vocals in the last Lord of the Rings soundtrack).

    This film impressed me the most in 2004 - I hope everyone gets a chance to see it!
    10huladog55

    A brave, wide-eyed look at a controversial subject

    I have a feeling that most of the reviewers here have not read the text of "Mysterious Skin" by Scott Heim. Doing so would be most helpful in viewing this film.

    Out of sheer luck, I happened to find a screening in Las Vegas, almost a year after the initial release, having finished the book only one day before. It was an interesting experience from the start.

    One got the feeling of stepping into an adult cinema, instead of a semi-mainstream release. I was surrounded by sprinkling of older guys watching an NC-17 matinée. A first for me, for sure. The movie captures the feel of the book spot on. Director Araki should be commended for staying so close to the text. Hardly anything was left out and what was deleted did not detract from the storyline in the least.

    Heim's novel deals with subject matter that most people would prefer to deny exists. But back here in the real world, it does. On screen we see the sensualization of an 8 year old boy, along with his sexual fantasy. Not for the squeamish, but Araki communicates this brilliantly without diluting the message. Most people would shy away from a story that has an 8 year old boy having an orgasm as he watched his mother have intercourse, but Araki does not. And somehow he makes it okay.

    Hats off to the boys cast as the young Neil and Brian. Chase Ellison captures the emotions of his character very well. He captures the darkness of Neil McCormick incredibly, and translates perfectly from the written page. We sense the confusion turning into acceptance and then, desire. It made me squirm in my seat. George Webster as young Brian 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 like a pure predator, but clearly he has devices at work. He's in the right place at the right time.

    Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a marvel is this film. There was a genuine quality to his character, an aloofness that comes with knowledge at an early age that is hard to put into words. Brady Corbett successfully brought his youthful character along, and I think his interactions with the other characters is spot on for someone who had had an experience like his.

    Critics will say that this film glorifies pedophilia. I disagree. I think it shows the effects of pedophilic relationship on different people, and how they react to it. It is a slice of life, albeit a very dark one, that does occur each and every day. Approach with caution and an open mind.

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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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    FAQ19

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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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