Mysterious Skin (2004)

Director:

Gregg Araki

Writers:

Gregg Araki (screenplay)
Scott Heim (novel)

Release Date:

30 maaliskuu 2005 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Hustler | Alien | Love | Baseball | Alien Abduction

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Chase Ellison	...	Neil (Age 8)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Neil
Brady Corbet	...	Brian
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
Richard Riehle	...	Charlie
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Wendy
Larry Marko	...	Old Man with Scar

Runtime:

105 min | USA:107 min (Sundance Channel Library Print)

Country:

USA | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Brazil:18 | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia) | USA:NC-17 | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 (TV rating) (2007) (self applied) | Portugal:M/18 (Qualidade) | France:-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Ireland:18 | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Desperate Pictures

Trivia:

In the scene where the boy is lying in bed, he is wearing a shirt that says, "Sex Wax and Six Packs." This is a t-shirt made for a party that is hosted annually by a notable Kansas State University Fraternity House. Kansas State University is in Manhattan, KS and the fact that the boy is wearing this shirt passed down to Hutchinson, KS shows the great deal of costume accuracy of the area.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 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.

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.

Movie Connections:

References Asteroids (1979) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Dagger

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!