Mysterious Skin

"The summer I was eight years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours, lost, gone without a trace..." These are the words of Brian Lackey, a troubled 18-year-old, growing up in the stiflingly small town of Hutchinson, KS. Plagued by nightmares, Brian believes that he may have been the victim of an alien abduction. Local Neil McCormick however, is the ultimate beautiful outsider. With a loving but promiscuous mother, Neil is wise beyond his years and curious about his developing sexuality, having found what he perceives to be love from his Little League baseball coach at a very early age. Now, 10 years later, Neil is a teenage hustler, nonchalant about the dangerous path his life is taking. Neil's pursuit of love leads him to New York City, while Brian's voyage of self discovery leads him to Neil -- who helps him to unlock the dark secrets of their past.

Extremely disturbing, emotional, and powerful film. This is one film that's not easy to swallow. Superb acting, raw but brilliant storytelling, well structured and beautiful cinematography. This movie will give you the chills. And yes, although it's not a horror film, the context alone is well over the line in crossing sickening boundaries that is horrifying enough to put you at unease.

"In 1981 Kansas, 8-year-olds Neil McCormick and Brian Lackey are sexually abused by their pedophiliac baseball coach. Neil's promiscuous mom doesn't pay any attention. Brian's parents don't realize what has happened either. Brian reacts to what happens by developing amnesia and blocking out the event, for many years suffering from violent nose bleeds. As Brian grows up he becomes a rather asexual, geekish boy, and glimpses of memories in recurring dreams make him believe he has been abducted by aliens. Neil who had been the coach's favorite boy, often helping him trick other kids into abuse situations integrates his experiences by developing an extrovert gay sexual personality turning tricks and eventually making his entire living from prostitution. When Brian turns 19 years old, he meets Neil for the first time since childhood and they uncover the secrets they share as well as beginning to heal one another."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who plays Neil McCormick) makes, yet again, another unbelievably powerful performance. Everyone in this film is convincing enough to help carry the story all the way to the end, and make it all very believable. It's sad, it's shocking, disgusting, but then again it's also very moving. This movie was given an NC-17 rating for a very good reason, and although there is an R rated version, this movie should only be viewed in it's entirety if you want the effect that it was aiming for(stick with the NC-17 version). Mysterious Skin is a film that's beautiful on the surface, but evil and haunting on the inside in everyway imaginable.

I highly recommend this film if you can stomach it.