Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)

Buy This Item Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition) by Strand Releasing  Available from Amazon  $19.99  on 11-25-2008     Though the subject matter of <I>Mysterious Skin</I> is as sensational as that of Gregg Araki's other films (such as <I>Totally F***ked Up</I>, <I>The Doom Generation</I>, or <I>The Living End</I>), his direction is richer and more multilayered than ever before. Two Kansas teenagers named Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, <I>10 Things I Hate About You</I>) and Brian (Brady Corbett, <I>Thirteen</I>) share a childhood trauma--but their responses are radically different: Neil hustles tricks, while Brady, who can't remember what happened, believes he was abducted by aliens and left with "missing time." As both try to make sense of their lives and Brian struggles to find out the truth, <I>Mysterious Skin</I> builds to an emotional pitch that some viewers will find uncomfortable and others will find liberating. The characters of Neil and Brian have a fullness that lifts <I>Mysterious Skin</I> above most examinations of sexual abuse and trauma. Gordon-Levitt has been deservedly praised by the critics, but the entire cast--which also includes Bill Sage (<I>Simple Men</I>), Elizabeth Shue (<I>Leaving Las Vegas</I>), Michelle Trachtenberg (<I>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</I>), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (<I>24</I>)--turns in superb performances. A striking and powerful movie. <I>--Bret Fetzer</I> Reader Reviews This movie is the best and the worst movie I have ever seen. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the film it turned out to be was not it at all. Child molestation, rape, prostitution, drugs, fear, anger, love, hate, all play a important role in this film. Parts of it are ridiculous, and other parts of it are so horrible that you can't take your eyes off the screen. The one scene that made this film worthy to me of 5 Stars is the scene where one of the main characters (who is a prostitute) gets violently raped. That scene is one of the most powerful and real scenes I believe to have ever been filmed. The domination, fear, and surrender are almost too real. I know people who have been raped, and rape scenes are always difficult to watch in films, but this scene has to be the most gut-wrenching rape scene I have ever seen. The ending left me wanting more. The film was ok, it had you wanting to understand and help the characters, but the company that produced this film has done better. Yes it is a powerful story, and because it is so powerful I highly doubt I will ever watch it again. It will stay with me for a long time. (And other reviewers have said that there is full frontal male nudity, but I do not recall seeing it. There is [...], and there is implied male nudity when one of the characters watches his mother have sex with her boyfriend, but I don't recall seeing his genitalia.)

Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition) Available from Amazon Price: $19.99 Updated on 11-25-2008.

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