Mysterious Skin
Two Kansas teenagers follow radically different memories of the same childhood trauma toward an uneasy, deeply compassionate reckoning.
Overview
Two teens from a small town confront their haunting pasts in a gripping tale of survival and truth.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- harrowing
- dreamy
- melancholic
- serious movie night
- independent cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's sensitive direction and bold performances for transforming a difficult story of child abuse into a thought-provoking and resonant coming-of-age drama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Neil and Brian carry distinct but interconnected psychological consequences from the same childhood abuse.
The film alternates Neil's and Brian's accounts before Brian follows clues linking their childhood experiences.
Brian's suspected alien abduction and amnesia filter abuse and memory through eerie, surreal imagery.
Neil's sexuality, teenage prostitution, and life as an outsider in Kansas and New York drive the film's perspective.
Films like Mysterious Skin, and why
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
shared coming of age drama, queer identity, and emotionally harrowing treatment of adolescent trauma
The Mudge Boy
shared intimate psychological drama, repressed childhood trauma, and sensitive queer themes
The Tale
shared unsettling coming of age story, sexual abuse trauma, and fractured memory
L.I.E.
shared provocative queer drama, outsider adolescence, and confrontational emotional intensity
Movie Details
- Director
- Gregg Araki
- Release Date
- 2005-03-30
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (1376)
Cast
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- Brady Corbet
- Michelle Trachtenberg
- Jeffrey Licon
- Mary Lynn Rajskub
- Elisabeth Shue
- Lisa Long
- Bill Sage
- Chase Ellison
- George Webster
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Strand Releasing Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mysterious Skin about?
- Two Kansas teenagers follow radically different memories of the same childhood trauma toward an uneasy, deeply compassionate reckoning.
- What is Mysterious Skin like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mysterious Skin as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mysterious Skin violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Mysterious Skin as mild.
- What did critics think of Mysterious Skin?
- Critics broadly praised the film's sensitive direction and bold performances for transforming a difficult story of child abuse into a thought-provoking and resonant coming-of-age drama.
- Which films are like Mysterious Skin?
- Films with a similar feel include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Mudge Boy, The Tale, and L.I.E..
- How long is Mysterious Skin?
- Mysterious Skin runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mysterious Skin?
- In United States, Mysterious Skin streams on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel.
