Mysterious Skin (2004)

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

Director:

Gregg Araki

Writers:

Gregg Araki (screenplay), Scott Heim (novel)

Stars:

Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elisabeth Shue

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chase Ellison	...	Neil (age 8)
George Webster	...	Brian (age 8)
Rachael Nastassja Kraft	...	Deborah (age 12) (as Rachael Kraft)
Lisa Long	...	Mrs. Lackey
Chris Mulkey	...	Mr. Lackey
Elisabeth Shue	...	Mrs. McCormick
David Lee Smith	...	Alfred
Bill Sage	...	Coach
Riley McGuire	...	Wendy (age 11)
Ryan Stenzel	...	Stephen Zepherelli
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Neil
Richard Riehle	...	Charlie
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Wendy
Brady Corbet	...	Brian
Larry Marko	...	Old man with scar

Storyline

Brian Lackey is determined to discover what happened during an amnesia blackout when he was eight years old, and then later woke with a bloody nose. He believes he was abducted by aliens, and N. McCormick, a fellow player on Brian's childhood baseball team, may be the key as to exactly what happened that night. As Brian searches for the truth and tries to track him down, Neil McCormick takes up hustling and moves to New York, in attempts to forget childhood memories that haunt him. Together, the two of them uncover the terrible truth of the scars they share.

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Plot Keywords:

gay male prostitute | male hustler | loss of innocence | man boy relationship | homosexual rape | 

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Taglines:

Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Piel misteriosa

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,425, 8 May 2005

Gross USA:

$713,240

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,532,932

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antidote Films (I), Desperate Pictures, Fortissimo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 107 min (Sundance Channel Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot over a period of three weeks.

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Goofs

When he arrives in Brighton Beach on a December night in 1991, Neil is seen noting where the closest subway stop is. The Brighton Beach station sign shows a Q in a yellow circle and a Q in a yellow diamond. But the "Q diamond" train was operating on that line for only a few years starting in the early 2000s. Prior to that, the Brighton Beach stop serviced the "Q circle" and the D trains.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Brian: [narration voice-over] The summer I was 8 years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours. Lost. Gone without a trace.
Brian: [narration voice-over] Last thing I remember I was sitting on the bench at my Little League game. It started to rain. What happened after that remains a pitch black void.

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Unikal'noe pozdravlenie (2014)

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Soundtracks

Away in a Manger
Traditional lyrics, tune attributed variously to William J. Kirkpatrick (uncredited) or James Murray (uncredited)
Performed by Tom Meredith, Cydney Neal, Arlo Levin and Isaiah Tefilo (as Isaiah Tefilo)

User Reviews

Powerful, Disturbing, Brave--Hat's off to Greg Araki, the cast and Scott Heim

Just got back from the Sundance Film Festival. I am still processing this powerful movie and the stunning reminder of the cost some of life's choices bring to our lives. I was amazed at the brutal honesty of this story. While I cannot say enough about the acting, Brady Corbet's subtle portrayal of Brian should be honored and remembered for a very long time. Bravo to all involved with this movie.

Before seeing this movie I could only remember that the novel, Mysterious Skin, had been disturbing. Greg Araki has made this novel into something that cuts emotionally but could also have a great impact in how people learn to deal with a painful past and the defenses they have built up to protect potentially devastating secrets.

Anyone who wants a movie to move them, to make them feel and to think should do everything they can to make sure they do not miss Mysterious Skin