Mysterious Skin (2004)

Directed by Gregg Araki

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Neil McCormick
Brady Corbet as Brian Lackey
Michelle Trachtenberg as Wendy
Jeff Licon as Eric
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Avalyn Friesen
Elisabeth Shue as Mrs. McCormick
Chase Ellison as 8-year-old Neil McCormick
George Webster as 8-year-old Brian Lackey
Bill Sage as Coach
Chris Mulkey as Mr. Lackey
Richard Riehle as Charlie
Kelly Kruger as Deborah

Mysterious Skin is just what you want in your indie experience - Raw Truth. To be brutally honest, I am still under a bit of shock after watching this last night. The movie packs a punch like no other.

I can remember one scene from "The Prince of Tides" where you have the realization that the reason why Nick Nolte is so distant and disturbed is that he was raped as a kid. That turned my stomach over when I watched it. I am older and wiser now and this movie made me think. Before you start watching this movie remember this fair warning - the movie is about real people with an abusive past, life deals them no mercy and the director has not tried to sugar-coat the pain and trauma that the characters have gone through.

The movie has solid acting performances all around and the Araki truely knows his trade. I find it strange that he went ahead and did a movie like "Smiley Face" after this. Maybe this movie drained him too much emotionally as it would you when you watch it.

I would recommend this movie for lover of true cinema, but not to all. Perhaps that is why I have written here about the trauma and the subject more than the movie itself.