This film is about two troubled teenagers who revisits their traumatic past that haunts them everyday.
"Mysterious Skin" touches a very disturbing and controversial topic that will alienate many people. The story follows two troubled young men, Brian and Neil. They both got molested by a baseball coach. After their unthinkable trauma, their lives are never the same again. One of them sells his body to men for money, while the other is repulsed by physical contact and believed that he got abducted by aliens. Seeing them live like this was already heartbreaking.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing in his role. He is perfectly cast, as he has such boyish looks and yet has a weathered street feel to him, making him perfect in his role. He portrays a wide variety of subtle emotions that can only be seen to be believed.
The film does not have lavish productions, and yet emanates waves of unspoken emotions. The trauma that the boys went through are subtly presented, leaving viewers room to feel the repressed memories. The final twenty minutes are so intense emotionally, that I find myself holding my breath for fear of missing any important dialog.
"Mysterious Skin" is a heavy film that leaves you stunned in thoughts and sadness. I only hope that "Mysterious Skin" will be judged only by its effective story telling, great character portrayal and memorable plot; and not by its disturbingly unsettling theme.
"Mysterious Skin" touches a very disturbing and controversial topic that will alienate many people. The story follows two troubled young men, Brian and Neil. They both got molested by a baseball coach. After their unthinkable trauma, their lives are never the same again. One of them sells his body to men for money, while the other is repulsed by physical contact and believed that he got abducted by aliens. Seeing them live like this was already heartbreaking.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing in his role. He is perfectly cast, as he has such boyish looks and yet has a weathered street feel to him, making him perfect in his role. He portrays a wide variety of subtle emotions that can only be seen to be believed.
The film does not have lavish productions, and yet emanates waves of unspoken emotions. The trauma that the boys went through are subtly presented, leaving viewers room to feel the repressed memories. The final twenty minutes are so intense emotionally, that I find myself holding my breath for fear of missing any important dialog.
"Mysterious Skin" is a heavy film that leaves you stunned in thoughts and sadness. I only hope that "Mysterious Skin" will be judged only by its effective story telling, great character portrayal and memorable plot; and not by its disturbingly unsettling theme.