JohnDoe
Bryn
BrentonMysterious Skin (2004) - Trailer Included
December 6th 2006 04:25
Mysterious Skin
DVD Cover
Novel:Scott Heim
Cinematography:Steve Gainer
“I met Wendy Peterson when I was ten. She was eleven, one grade ahead of me in school. If I wasn't queer we would have ended up having sloppy teenage sex and getting pregnant, contributing more fucked-up unwanted kids to society. But instead, she became my soul mate and one true partner in crime.” - Neil
A fatalistic tale of inevitable collision, two boys lives are forever linked through their loss of innocence. Profound, emotionally complex and hauntingly beautiful, Mysterious Skin is a savage and brutal subject told with tenderness and understanding.
Beginning with the surreal image of Froot Loops falling from the sky, this is a study of childhood perception and the pivotal moments that shape our adult lives.
In the summer of 1981, 8 year old Brian Lackey (Brady Corbert) & Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon Levitt) play in a little league baseball team.
Brian is shy, fragile and gets nose bleeds. One night he has a blackout, experiences memory loss and becomes convinced he has seen a UFO. His family pays little attention.
“The summer I was 8 years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours. Lost. Gone without a trace. 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” – Brian
Neil is brash, confident and has a deluded crush on his paedophile coach. Experiencing confused sexual awakening, he allows himself to be molested. His alcoholic single mother (Elisabeth Shue) is too zonked out to notice anything.
“It happened, it just happened. That’s what I told myself.” - Neil
10 years later Neil is now a gay street hustler, seeking comfort in the arms of older men. Detached and unfeeling he moves through life with little real caring.
“You don't have to tell me, I was infatuated with him too once. But I know all Neil's secrets and there's shit there you don't even want to know about. Trust me. Once I'm gone, you'll be all Neil has and you have to understand one thing. Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out, you can fall in and get lost forever.” - Wendy
Brian is obsessed with what happened during his blackouts and seeks to fill in the blanks. Convinced he was abducted by aliens as a child he’s determined to find out the truth and follows a trajectory towards revelations and forgiveness.
“I was bleeding, I kept passing out, I wet my bed, and you never asked why!” - Brian
John Doe says:
Delicately told and restrained throughout there is a gentleness to Director Gregg Araki’s (Totally Fucked Up, the Doom Generation, Nowhere) empathetic vision that was not present in his earlier films.
Hypnotic thanks to carefully framed and subtly scored scenes the dark subject matter partners in a trance like effect, you can not take your eyes off the screen.
The organic screenplay is all about exploring the characters and their motivations, Digging deep into the psyche and exposing raw confusion and pain.
That’s not to say it doesn’t aim to surprise and captivate, because it does. The separate threads and time shifts are all used to assist in raising the drama. The viewer becomes more invested in the protagonists making for unnerving, harrowing and devastating observations on childhood trauma.
Former 3rd Rock from The Sun child star Joseph Gordon Levitt(Brick, Shadow Boxer, Killshot) has demolished the illusion of his innocent image with one massive blow. Brave, daring to tackle the intricacies of the part he constructs what I consider the best male performance of 2004. Following up Mysterious Skin with the equally layered Brick he is fast becoming my actor of the moment.
Brad Corbet (Thirteen, 24) plays the soft and emotive Brian with wisdom and you sympathise and feel for him on his journey for self knowledge.
Elisabeth Shue (The Karate Kid, Underneath, Back To the Future II) dredges up the ghosts of Leaving Las Vegas, completely convincing as an oblivious lush unaware of her sons life.
All the supporting cast become their roles and make this a tour de force of acting and challenging dramatic cinema.
One of the reasons I watch films is to see the world through different eyes, walk in someone else’s shoes and experience an alternate reality of the human experience.
This film shined a light on people who were nothing like me and were subjected to heinous evil that left deeper emotional scars than anything I would dream of comprehending. The amazing thing is that by the end I was at the starting point to a little enlightenment on something that I will never come near in real life.
The DVD:
The film is in Anamorphic Widescreen with 5.1 Dolby digital audio. A revealing and essential Directors commentary is worth listening to twice and the interviews and readings of the original novel increase awareness of the films themes and ideas.
Below is the theatrical trailer for this life changing film
A fatalistic tale of inevitable collision, two boys lives are forever linked through their loss of innocence. Profound, emotionally complex and hauntingly beautiful, Mysterious Skin is a savage and brutal subject told with tenderness and understanding.
Beginning with the surreal image of Froot Loops falling from the sky, this is a study of childhood perception and the pivotal moments that shape our adult lives.
In the summer of 1981, 8 year old Brian Lackey (Brady Corbert) & Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon Levitt) play in a little league baseball team.
Brian is shy, fragile and gets nose bleeds. One night he has a blackout, experiences memory loss and becomes convinced he has seen a UFO. His family pays little attention.
Neil is brash, confident and has a deluded crush on his paedophile coach. Experiencing confused sexual awakening, he allows himself to be molested. His alcoholic single mother (Elisabeth Shue) is too zonked out to notice anything.
“It happened, it just happened. That’s what I told myself.” - Neil
10 years later Neil is now a gay street hustler, seeking comfort in the arms of older men. Detached and unfeeling he moves through life with little real caring.
“You don't have to tell me, I was infatuated with him too once. But I know all Neil's secrets and there's shit there you don't even want to know about. Trust me. Once I'm gone, you'll be all Neil has and you have to understand one thing. Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out, you can fall in and get lost forever.” - Wendy
Brian is obsessed with what happened during his blackouts and seeks to fill in the blanks. Convinced he was abducted by aliens as a child he’s determined to find out the truth and follows a trajectory towards revelations and forgiveness.
“I was bleeding, I kept passing out, I wet my bed, and you never asked why!” - Brian
"OK, do I look cool, check. Do I have a look liek I would do anything for a buck, yep. And finally do I have that copy of My Own Private Idaho?"
John Doe says:
Delicately told and restrained throughout there is a gentleness to Director Gregg Araki’s (Totally Fucked Up, the Doom Generation, Nowhere) empathetic vision that was not present in his earlier films.
Hypnotic thanks to carefully framed and subtly scored scenes the dark subject matter partners in a trance like effect, you can not take your eyes off the screen.
The organic screenplay is all about exploring the characters and their motivations, Digging deep into the psyche and exposing raw confusion and pain.
That’s not to say it doesn’t aim to surprise and captivate, because it does. The separate threads and time shifts are all used to assist in raising the drama. The viewer becomes more invested in the protagonists making for unnerving, harrowing and devastating observations on childhood trauma.
Former 3rd Rock from The Sun child star Joseph Gordon Levitt(Brick, Shadow Boxer, Killshot) has demolished the illusion of his innocent image with one massive blow. Brave, daring to tackle the intricacies of the part he constructs what I consider the best male performance of 2004. Following up Mysterious Skin with the equally layered Brick he is fast becoming my actor of the moment.
Brad Corbet (Thirteen, 24) plays the soft and emotive Brian with wisdom and you sympathise and feel for him on his journey for self knowledge.
Elisabeth Shue (The Karate Kid, Underneath, Back To the Future II) dredges up the ghosts of Leaving Las Vegas, completely convincing as an oblivious lush unaware of her sons life.
All the supporting cast become their roles and make this a tour de force of acting and challenging dramatic cinema.
One of the reasons I watch films is to see the world through different eyes, walk in someone else’s shoes and experience an alternate reality of the human experience.
This film shined a light on people who were nothing like me and were subjected to heinous evil that left deeper emotional scars than anything I would dream of comprehending. The amazing thing is that by the end I was at the starting point to a little enlightenment on something that I will never come near in real life.
The DVD:
The film is in Anamorphic Widescreen with 5.1 Dolby digital audio. A revealing and essential Directors commentary is worth listening to twice and the interviews and readings of the original novel increase awareness of the films themes and ideas.
Below is the theatrical trailer for this life changing film
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Comment by Whatever
WHATEVER
I saw this movie about 2 months ago and have only just erased it from my mind. it was too confronting for me.. i suppose you know these things happen, but the reality of it hits you when it is in proximity to your face on the TV.
very strong performances all round.
did you like it JD?
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Couldnt you tell that I loved it??. In fact i would safely say it was in my top 5 Best Pictures of 2004.
...kind of a rule of thumb with my Blog, I only tend to review films I love and try and get others excited about them.
I also put up my published Filmink reviews each month too, which are far more objective.
Totally agree it is a confronting film but I found it to be profoundly effective and poignant at the same time.
Thanks for dropping in. Come back soon.
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Yeah I wasn't much of a fan of the trailer, at least they didnt make it look like a thriller. Agreed their is an art to creating a good trailer, one thing is never give a way the ending.
The film itself is something quite special and if you are up for a powerful human drama, this fits the bill.
As "Whatever" said, it is very challenging viewing but Im sure your up for it Cib.
Comment by Anonymous
-Rach
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Sorry about that, seriously though Im sure it does belong on your must see list. Challenging but well worth it.
Comment by Nina
TV Babble
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
I'm torn - I've seen/heard a lot of positive remarks for this movie, but I've had more than my fair share of dark and depressing movies of late... I'll probably see it sometime in the future when I'm feeling more upbeat.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
This is not a movie to go into feeling downhearted. Definetly have to be in the mood for films like this.
Though a totally different cinematic style, I would equate the feeling after watching Mysterious Skin the first time to Requiem For A Dream.
I hope you feel upbeat soon and can come back and tell me what you thought of the film once you see it. Same as any of the films that I get excited about here.
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I have trouble with the child abuse stuff in books and movies and tend to steer clear of it, but will keep this in mind because of Levitt. Like Epiphanie says, I'll need to be in the right mood.
Great review.
Michaelie
Comment by Jason King
Salty Popcorn
I have Mysterious Skin on DVD - will have to watch again. Have nearly got the whole Araki set, then I will find another fu**ed up director to worship and collect. LOL