MYSTERIOUS SKIN
US, 2004, 99 minutes, Colour.
Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jeff Licon, Bill Sage, Elizabeth Shue, Chris Mulkey, Lisa Long, Mary Lynn Rajskub.
Directed by Gregg Araki.
Mysterious Skin is a surprising film from writer-director, Gregg Araki. For more than a decade he produced many B-budget films like Splendor, Nowhere, The Doom Generation, The Living End. His films were noted for sexual themes, drug taking. He also had a homosexual focus in many of his stories. They were full of coarse language, rough and ready in both form and content.
With Mysterious Skin, he has adapted a novel by Scott Heim. Its focus is on paedophilia, the sexual abuse of young boys. The novel came out in 1995 when charges were beginning to surface in various organisations, especially the churches.
This film focuses on families and the paedophile is the baseball coach. The setting is the late 1980s, early 1990s.
The film is strong in its portrayal of sexual abuse. However, Araki keeps a balance between the prurient and showing the dramatic and dire impact of sexual abuse. While some audiences may find it disturbing, it is a necessary disturbance, learning to understand the reality of paedophilia, the psychology of the abuser, the long-lasting effects of the experience on the abused.
The film focuses on two very different boys. As teenagers they are portrayed by Joseph Gordon Levitt and by Brady Corbett. Levitt portrays a young hustler. Corbett portrays an introverted young man who has blocked out the abuse and begins to think that the missing hours of his life were caused by his being abducted by aliens. By the end of the film, when the two adolescents come together, they go to the house where the abuse took place and the hustler explains to the other boy what actually happened. This is a harrowing experience as the young man realises what has happened to him, the memories come back. This is the moment when the film ends, leaving the future for the two boys and a sense of wonder and anticipation as well as alarm for the audience.
The film also has a good supporting cast with Michelle Trachtenberg (Harriet the Spy, television’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as the best friend of the hustler. Jeff Licon is a good friend to both of the boys. Bill Sage does well in the unenviable role of the coach. Elizabeth Shue appears as the mother of the hustler while Lisa Long and Chris Mulkey are the parents of the disturbed boy. Billy Drago and Richard Riehle appear as clients of the hustler.
After a long career in his own almost private kind of films, Araki has made a significant contribution to American movies and to an exploration of serious themes.
1.The career of Gregg Araki? Small-budget films developing more towards mainstream with this film? His perennial themes: youth, sex, relationships, homosexuality?
2.The film based on a novel of the 90s, the issues of sexual relationships, sexual abuse, paedophilia? A strong film in content, in tone – but done with discretion for a wider audience than might be expected? The reality of the 90s, the reports of paedophilia and sexual abuse cases? In the courts? This film as background to paedophiles, the impact of the abuse on the victims and their growing up traumatised by their experiences?
3.The cancer settings of the 80s and 90s? Hutchinson, the small Midwest town, the contrast with New York City, the apartments, streets, bars, diners, the locations for the clients? The musical score and the range of songs?
4.The title, physical aspects, psychological aspects? Sensuality, sexuality? Identity?
5.The theme of child abuse, the picture of the perpetrators, behaviour and motivation? The picture of the victims, the consequences?
6.The UFO themes, the reality and unreality, out of body experiences – seen as parallels for Brian’s experience? UFOs as seemingly unthinkable, people believing in them? The visualising of the UFO going over Brian’s house? The visualising of the aliens and their probes? The TV program and its detail? In Brian’s dreams? This as a symbol for the experience of the abuse and the repressed memory?
7.The dates, the 1980s, the 1990s? The background of the emergence of AIDS, the client with the scars? Issues of safe sex and condoms?
8.The introduction of the two boys, intercutting, parallels? The voice-over and their giving their stories? The differences, the similarities? Their quests? The effect of the abuse? The need for healing?
9.The portrait of Neil, his age, watching his mother and the boyfriend out in the garden, his sexual consciousness, his activity even as a young boy? Playing baseball, his being the star? The visualising of the coach, the aura around the coach? Baseball and his success? Going home with the coach, playing the video games, the coach and the photographs, the tape recorder, getting him to swear, the photos and their provocative nature, the build-up to the seduction? The games with the food and the cereals? The film’s psychology of the coach and his being able only to play with little boys, the sexual relationship with little boys? Neil and his being willing to be seduced?
10.The contrast with Brian, small, glasses? His being discovered in the crawl space, his baseball gear, his bleeding nose? His father and his not being happy with his inability to play sport? Brian and his thinking that he had lost hours of his life? Later episodes, his fainting, the nosebleeds? The Halloween, his Satan costume, being accosted by Neil and Wendy, his dream, the aliens, the sexual abuse? His wanting to understand what had happened to him?
11.Neil, the friendship with Wendy, his explanations, his sexual orientation, what might have been had they been able to get married? Wendy, friends with Neil, yet shocked at his behaviour, especially with Brian? Their remaining friendship, her looking after him, going to New York, his following her?
12.Neil, the hustling, the clients in Hutchinson, the travelling salesman? His becoming bored with Hutchinson and his having finished all the potential clients? His commentating work at the baseball games – even with clients under the desk? His age, relationship with his mother, his mother and her boyfriends? His mother not suspecting anything? The friendship with Eric and Wendy? Going to New York, the farewell? With Wendy in New York, sharing the apartment, her advice, getting him the job, his going to work – and then accepting the clients in New York, the man with AIDS who wanted to be massaged, the brutal man who virtually raped and bashed him? His story of the mugging on the way to the airport?
13.Brian, his father’s harshness in leaving home, his relationship with his sister, his caring mother, the ideal Midwest wife and mother? School, seeing the program on the UFOs, interested in meeting Avalyn? Writing her the letter? Driving to see her? Their discussions, the UFOs, her explanations of repressed memories, hypnotism? His feeling that this might be the same for him, the mystery and the pain? His taking the photo from the archives, the baseball, identifying N. McCormick? Her showing him the cow, putting his hand in the cow, the sexual organs, no blood? His going home, writing his dreams in his diary? Avalyn’s visit, the sexual approach, his horror and asking her to leave? The growing friendship with Eric, the bond between the two, sharing experiences, homework? His ringing the McCormicks?, meeting Neil’s mother? Eric and his writing the postcard to Neil, describing Brian as asexual? The birthday party, his getting drunk, his father turning up, the gift, Brian and his weeping plea for his father to explain what had happened to him?
14.The character of Avalyn, at home on the farm, handicapped, her crutch? On the television program, the UFOs, her explanations, hypnotism? The meetings with Brian, the discussions, the friendship, the incident with the cow? The sexual approach – her apologising and being hurt?
15.The parents in Hutchinson, the two different classes, their unaware of what was happening with their sons? Brian’s parents and the break-up, his devoted mother? Neil’s mother, her love for her son, not imagining what was going on?
16.Eric, his friendship, character? Clothes and hair dye? Gay, his devotion to Neil? A good friendship with Brian?
17.The portrait of the coach, his psychology, his behaviour – especially as more was revealed about his malice in the final healing session? His responsibility?
18.The importance of the final sequence, going into the house, it being Christmas, the Christ child and his innocence, the carols? Brian beginning to remember, the house, the room? His wanting Neil to explain everything, Neil’s detail of what had happened in the summer, his own seduction, his collaboration with the coach in the activities, the abuse of Brian? Their taking him home on the night he lost the hours? His blacking out, falling and his nose bleeding, their putting him back in the house?
19.The effect for Neil of confessing, of looking at his past, of the collaboration with the coach, of the abuse of Brian? Brian and his needing to know, knowing, his gratitude towards Neil for telling the truth?
20.For what audience? A mirror of behaviour at all times – but brought to the surface, especially in English-speaking countries during the 1990s?
