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List Price: $24.99 | | Label: Strand Releasing
Salesrank: 18844
Released: March 20, 2006 |
| Our Price: $13.79 |
| Used Price: $12.75 |
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MPAA Rating: NC-17
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 03/24/2006 Rating: Nr
Description of Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition):
Though the subject matter of Mysterious Skin is as sensational as that of Gregg Araki's other films (such as Totally F***ked Up, The Doom Generation, or The Living End), his direction is richer and more multilayered than ever before. Two Kansas teenagers named Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 10 Things I Hate About You) and Brian (Brady Corbett, Thirteen) 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, Mysterious Skin 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 Mysterious Skin 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 (Simple Men), Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24)--turns in superb performances. A striking and powerful movie. --Bret Fetzer
Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition) Reviews:
Darkly Disturbing, Delightfully Deep 
2009-10-13 - The film follows the lives of two boys who, at the age of 8, were molested by their little league baseball coach. The divergence in their personalities as they grow older is quite telling: one boy embraces what happened and longs to feel loved by a man, while his counterpart represses the scenario and becomes (as one character in the movie describes him) "asexual." Their reunion some 10 years after the fact ends in an intense and heart-pounding confrontation, amplified by a scene that can only be described as an exemplar of catharsis.
Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbett deliver amazing performances, exploring a range and depth of emotion often missing in film. Both young men portray their character's unique perspective on the world perfectly: Gordon-Levitt in a numb and even nihilistic fashion, Corbett as a naive and trusting soul who has been gravely injured at a deep, psychological level.
The film rests in the same category of cinema as works such as "The Mudge Boy" and "My Own Private Idaho." This is perhaps the most phenomenally dark gay-coming-of-age film to date!
The themes and issues of child molestation stand apart from those of homosexuality and the two are not confused, even in the minds of the protagonists. Gordon-Levitt's character is avowedly gay while Corbett's is not. The clear distinction between pedophilia and homosexuality is both welcome and refreshing.
Personally I am appalled at the 1-star rating some users have given this film for its content. The film is graphic, disturbing, and shockingly provocative. Yet the characters are believable and likable over-all, the direction is superb, and the whole work is enthralling.
Michelle Trachtenberg and Jeffery Licon deliver sound performances in their respective supporting roles.
Five stars are given because Amazon won't allow me to give six.
FREEKING WONDERFUL!!!
2009-10-06 - ive been waiting along time to see this movie again i saw it on cable a long while ago and could not think of the name then i get on amazon and found it this movie is crazy yet amazing. A very good movie put the kids to bed because its not for the faint hearted
mysterious skin 
2009-09-29 -
Sorry I can not rate this because I never received it from vender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!he promised me next day delivery, after I never received the first one...........never got that one either...but I am charged for it.....
Gritty, Disturbing and Poignant
2009-09-19 - Very few "gay films" can claim to have an impact beyond mere fluff, but this film holds its own against many mainstream releases in terms of acting/character development/plot and production values. Gordin-Levitt does an amazing job as a troubled teen who is just trying to survive given the circumstances he was brought up in. I would highly recommend this film to anyone, gay or straight. I even recommended it to my family and they liked it as well.
4 Stars But Beware 
2009-09-12 - I give this film 4 stars because of the brilliance of the acting, writing, directing and cinematography. However, the subject matter is extremely disturbing. ****SPOILER ALERT**** This film is about child molestation and the way that 2 different boys\victims of the same perpetrator have tried to process the destruction to their lives. They have both suffered horribly and have dealt with the pain in 2 entirely different ways which proves to be a very terrifying and fascinating juxtapositon.
I would not want to watch this film again, it was heartbreaking and infuriating but I commend the creative team for tackling such a difficult subject that very few people want to acknowledge in life or on film.
