Two young men, Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Brain Lackey (Brady Corbett), live in small town America and are both struggling to grow into adults.  McCormick makes his living as a prostitute and sleeps with as many men as possible.  He was sexually abused as a child by his baseball coach and does not view the experience negatively.  Lackey believes that he was abducted by aliens and lives a quiet, awkward life.  As McCormick’s sexual adventures become more and more dangerous and Lackey’s memories of the abduction start to shift to having been abused, they are drawn together in an effort to understand what has happened to them.

Childhood sexual abuse is a difficult topic for a film but Mysterious Skin handles it about as well as can be imagined.  The two widely divergent responses that the boys have to the abuse lead to similar levels of dysfunction with distinct forms.  Lackey, who was only molested once, dissociates so strongly from the experience that he suppresses it.  Learning of the abuse with McCormick is intense for him but holds out the hope of some adult development.  Neil, on the other hand, has incorporated the abuse so completely that he doesn’t really exist outside of it.  The scenes of abuse are intense and shocking but clearly convey its horror.  The lead performances are excellent, Gregg Araki’s direction is strong and clear, and the whole experience stays with you.  This is probably Araki’s finest film and also helped to launch Levitt’s career from that of child actor to adult star.  Mysterious Skin is not for everyone but there is much to be gained from viewing it.  ✰ ✰ ✰ ½.

MJM  03-14-2012