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Mysterious Skin

  • 20042004
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
69K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,460
197
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin (2004)
Theatrical Trailer from TLA Releasing
Play trailer1:53
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Drama

A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
69K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,460
197
  • Director
    • Gregg Araki
  • Writers
    • Gregg Araki(screenplay)
    • Scott Heim(novel)
  • Stars
    • Brady Corbet
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Elisabeth Shue
Top credits
  • Director
    • Gregg Araki
  • Writers
    • Gregg Araki(screenplay)
    • Scott Heim(novel)
  • Stars
    • Brady Corbet
    • Joseph Gordon-Levitt
    • Elisabeth Shue
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 263User reviews
    • 151Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Mysterious Skin
    Trailer 1:53
    Mysterious Skin

    Photos127

    Elisabeth Shue, Chase Ellison, and Bill Sage in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Michelle Trachtenberg, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jeffrey Licon in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Lisa Long, Rachael Nastassja Kraft, and George Webster in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Michelle Trachtenberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Mary Lynn Rajskub and Brady Corbet in Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Brady Corbet at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Gregg Araki, Brady Corbet, and Scott Heim at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Gregg Araki at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Scott Heim at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Scott Heim at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)
    Brady Corbet at an event for Mysterious Skin (2004)

    Top cast

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

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A gay teenage prostitute and another teen, both from the same small town in Kansas, narrate separate stories from their childhoods. The prostitute's story is about a disturbing homosexual encounter with his pedophile baseball coach, and the other teen's story revolves around an amnesia blackout during which he thinks he may have been abducted by aliens. Later, the second teen finds clues linking the gay prostitute (now living in New York City) to his possible alien abduction, so he tracks him down to finally seek out the truth.
    • gay male prostitute
    • male hustler
    • loss of innocence
    • man boy relationship
    • homosexual rape
    • 398 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget.
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Unrated
    • Parents guide

    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 At the Movies: 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.

    User reviews263

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    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.
    helpful•18
    5
    • Galina_movie_fan
    • Oct 16, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 24, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Netherlands
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tenin Gizemi
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • 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

    Technical specs

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

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