Mysterious Skin | | Cast : | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | | Director : | | | Studio : | Tla Entertainment Gr | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | , 2004 | | DVD Released Date : | October 25, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | Unrated | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 29, 2005 | | Summary | A significant achievement | Content
 | In the summer of '81, Kansas 8-year-olds Neil and Brian are both sexually abused by their Little League coach, but their reactions could not be more different. For the sexually precocious Neil, it's a sexual awakening, setting him on the path to becoming a gay hustler and a life of such emotional numbness that he looks back on Coach as his "one true love". For Brian, it's a hellish experience his brain all but erases with 5 hours of lost time, leaving him shy, remote, unable to engage romantically with anyone, and floundering through adolescence struggling to make sense of what happened to him. It's only when he finally reconnects with Neil after a decade of searching that all the pieces finally fall into place... Gregg Araki's significant achievement here is to make a movie that is as moving as it is pitiless in the depiction of abuse and its consequences. The writing is crisp, the performances brave and convincing (Joseph Gordon-Levitt especially), and it's so brilliantly structured and edited that the only time any abuse is actually "seen" is in the minds of the audience during the moving final confessional sequence. It's hard to believe that this bold and tender film could be criticised for its masterful handling of a difficult subject, yet it aroused predictable ire among the ludicrously conservative film and literature classification bodies here in Australia. Members were apparently alarmed that it might be used as some kind of training video for paedophiles in how to "groom" their victims. On the contrary, rarely has a film so powerfully and effectively argued against abuse by showing its devastating consequences. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 22, 2005 | | Summary | Harrowing tale of child abuse you cant take your eyes off of | Content
| This was one of the best films of 2005. All of the actors are outstanding, but Joseph Gordon Levitt really carries the film in a breakout performance both haunting, sexy and tender in his realism.
This is independent American film at its best- very absorbing, it lingers in your mind for days even months afterwards. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 22, 2005 | | Summary | Realistic aftermath of sexually abused boys | Content
| This story of two boys, sexually abused by their little league coach, portrays the very realistic trauma suffered, even years later. I am a 61 year old man and I personally was raped by my brother when I was 13. To this day I still bear much pain of that incident, which only occurred one time (unless like one of the boys' in this movie, I have also blocked other events from my memory), and it had profound negative effects on me and my family for many years until I finally faced the pain beginning in 1996 when I was 52 years old. I am now free from the guilt and have a much happier life, but there still is a degree of pain from time to time. I encourage EVERY (ADULTS only) to see this movie. For those who have been sexually abused, as boys or girls, men or women, it is a source of validation of your feelings. For those who have not been sexually abused, it is a must see in order to gain a perspective and walk in the shoes of the abused, with the hopes that you can be watchful for signs of sexual abuse and befriend the broken and help them find their way home.
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| Rating | | | Date | August 21, 2005 | | Summary | Skin-Deep | Content
| Watched Mysterious Skin two days ago. Somehow I didn't have the compulsion to write anything about it, like I usually would when I have watched a (good or bad) film. It was because I was reeling from the disturbing effects the film had on me even after two days.
"The summer I was eight years old, five hours disappeared from my life"? so runs the catchy opening to the adapted film. The boy grows up believeing that he was abducted by strange aliens the five hours he was lost. The other grows up to be a gay hustler until he has a tragic and violent encounter. The material wasn't groundbreaking; it talks about paedophilic gay child abuse and the effects it had on the two boys involved in it long after it was over. However, it was the realism portrayed by the leads Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Third Rock From The Sun) and Brady Corbet that really shook me inside. It also revealed the stereotypical American gay society in the 80's and early 90's. The two little known actors and the supporting cast of Jeff Licon and Michelle Trachtenberg who play Levitt's best friends also lent great depth to the movie.
I really loved the scene where the snow fell and God was heard. Watch it for yourself, but it's not for the faint-hearted. (A) |
| Rating | | | Date | August 19, 2005 | | Summary | A movie about something | Content
| This is a tough, intense movie about the results of child abuse. Two boys, age 8, are abused by their Little League coach. One of the boys is traumatized, he can remember nothing about the incident. Five hours has disappeared from his life and as he grows older he believes he may have been kidnapped by aliens. Sounds comical--it isn't and it works. The other boy, probably destined to be gay in any event, loves his memories of his coach and what the coach did to him. The first boy grows up to be sexually neutered, on a quest to find out what happened during those missing five hours. The other boy grows up to be a teenage hustler "with a black hole where his heart should be." The acting throughout is superb, both Brady Corbett (Brian) and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt deserve five gold stars each. You cannot take your eyes off Gordon-Leavitt when he is on screen. The directing is remarkable; totally unlike anything Gregg Araki has done in the past. You have to be "up" for this film; if you're out for two hours of simple minded entertainment, forget it. On the other hand, if you think that perhaps movies should be "about" something, this one is definitely for you. It had a limited release in art theaters. I sincerely hope it gets a much wider acceptance on DVD. It deserves it. |
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