Mysterious Skin – Unter die Haut (2004)

Mysterious Skin – Unter die Haut: Directed by Gregg Araki. With Chase Ellison, George Webster, Rachael Nastassja Kraft, Lisa Long. A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.

“u0026quot;Mysterious Skinu0026quot; is a movie that I heard very little about. Never saw the trailer, never saw a poster nothing. Until one day I was just looking up movies online and I came across this film. I looked up the website, watched the trailer, and said I want to see this. So I didnu0026#39;t get around to it when I lived in California since it came and went very quickly however the film did show up in a little theater about 5 miles from my house so I figured I have to check this film out and so I did.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Mysterious Skinu0026quot; is the story of two boys Brian (Brady Corbet) and Neil (Joseph Gordon Levitt). Brian canu0026#39;t remember what happened to him when he was younger but he knows something bad happened. Neil on the other hand remembers every second of what happened and has let that take control of his life. The story continues to show Brian as a nerdy kid trying to find out what happened to him and Neil turns into a hustler. But in the end the horrifying truth comes out and their lives are changed forever.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen this film ended, I just stood there and said wow that was really messed up and I felt depressed. The story is so raw and graphic. I donu0026#39;t think I saw anything this graphic since I first saw u0026quot;Irreversibleu0026quot; a few years back. The movie feels so real and the events that occur to these two kids seem so common in todayu0026#39;s society. I think it really hits home and thatu0026#39;s why this film works so well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe lead performances by Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon Levitt are terrific. Both are extremely believable and well acted. Itu0026#39;s nice how they each played a character so different from one another. After watching Levitt in this film, u0026quot;Manicu0026quot; and u0026quot;Latter Days,u0026quot; I am pretty convinced that the guy is one hell of an actor although he needs to stick to the independent films. And the same thing goes for Brady Corbet who starred in my favorite film two years back called u0026quot;Thirteen.u0026quot; Also I feel itu0026#39;s necessary to comment on Michelle Trachtenberg here who played Neilu0026#39;s partner in crime Wendy. I really donu0026#39;t like Mrs. Trachtenberg probably because I saw her in the god-awful u0026quot;Euro Tripu0026quot; and in u0026quot;Buffyu0026quot; however in this movie she was pretty good. I think she played the supporting role well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGregg Araki was both the writer and director on the film. I must say the man knows how to make a graphic and disturbing film. The movie at times is hard to watch because of how disturbing some of the scenes are. I havenu0026#39;t seen any of Mr. Arakiu0026#39;s other films but I have been reading online and have heard that this is his masterpiece. I canu0026#39;t really say that I liked the film because this isnu0026#39;t a movie you come out of and say oh yea that was wonderful! You kind of come out of the theater saying man that was really f*cked up, kind of like the movie u0026quot;Thirteenu0026quot; although this movie is much more graphic. Itu0026#39;s a great work of art as far as film goes and tells a deep and disturbing story well. The thing like I mentioned above that makes the film work is that this type of stuff happens in the world today which again is why u0026quot;Thirteenu0026quot; worked. Itu0026#39;s shocking and disturbing but itu0026#39;s only that way because it feels and seems real.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the end, I think itu0026#39;s a really good movie with powerful performances and a great story. The movie is not for the weak hearted. I myself felt a bit disturbed by the film. The subject matter isnu0026#39;t very happy and neither is the story. The film is extremely graphic and raw. Some of the more disturbing scenes seem to run on for a long time which means that the film is working on its audience. I canu0026#39;t really pick a target audience for this film but if you like movies that are real and raw then you should check this out. This is a great movie that I think many would not be able to handle but for the few who can I think it really delivers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMovieManMenzelu0026#39;s final rating for u0026quot;Mysterious Skinu0026quot; is a 9/10.”