Mysterious Skin (2004)
Coming Out at 30 March 2005 in theaters.
Drama
Mysterious Skin is coming-of-age drama film directed by Gregg Araki, who also wrote the screenplay based on Scott Heim’s 1995 novel of the same name. The film is Araki’s eighth, premiering at the 61st Venice International Film Festival in 2004, although it was not more widely distributed until 2005.
Mysterious Skin tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who both experienced a strange event as children, and how it affects their lives in different ways into their young adulthood. One boy becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous male prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.
Two eight-year-old Little League teammates, Neil McCormick and Brian Lackey, both experience life-altering events during the summer of 1981 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Neil, the son of an irresponsible single mother who is already discovering his own homosexuality, is sexually abused by the Little League coach, who leaves town after that summer. Brian, whose parents are often neglectful or busy working, only remembers that it started to rain during a game. The next thing he remembers is being in the crawl space of a house with a bloody nose, having no memory of the intervening five hours.
Director: Gregg Araki
Writers: Gregg Araki, Scott Heim (novel)
Stars: Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elisabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg, Chase Ellison, Bill Sage, Lisa Long
Cast:
| Chase Ellison | … | Neil (age 8) |
| George Webster | … | Brian (age 8) |
| Rachael Nastassja Kraft | … | Deborah (age 12) |
| Lisa Long | … | Mrs. Lackey |
| Chris Mulkey | … | Mr. Lackey |
| Elisabeth Shue | … | Mrs. McCormick |
| David Lee Smith | … | Alfred |
| Bill Sage | … | Coach |
| Riley McGuire | … | Wendy (age 11) |
| Ryan Stenzel | … | Stephen Zepherelli |
| Joseph Gordon-Levitt | … | Neil |
| Richard Riehle | … | Charlie |
| Michelle Trachtenberg | … | Wendy |
| Brady Corbet | … | Brian |
| Larry Marko | … | Old man with scar |
| Mary Lynn Rajskub | … | Avalyn Friesen |
| Clover | … | Patches |
| Jeffrey Licon | … | Eric |
| Bruno Alexander | … | Redneck Hick |
| Forrest Fountain | … | Jackson |
| Zane Huett | … | Jackson’s Son |
| Reedy Gibbs | … | Receptionist |
| David Alan Graf | … | Gay Lumberjack |
| John Ganun | … | NYC John |
| Billy Drago | … | Zeke |
| Kelly Kruger | … | Deborah |
| Pete Kasper | … | Sedan Driver |
| Joan Blair | … | Customer in Yogurt Shop |
| Trieste Kelly Dunn | … | Date in “Blood Prom” |
| Gwenne Hudson | … | Baseball Mom |
| Spencer Kayden | … | Brooklyn Girl |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia