Mysterious Skin (2004)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Gregg Araki

Writers:

Scott Heim (novel)
Gregg Araki (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 March 2005 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget.

Plot:

A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.

Plot Keywords:

Hustler | Alien | Alien Abduction | Boy | Love

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Chase Ellison	...	Neil (Age 8)
George Webster	...	Brian (Age 8)
Rachael Nastassja Kraft	...	Deborah (Age 12) (as Rachael Kraft)
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 (as Jeff Licon)
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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joan M. Blair	...	Customer in Yogurt Shop (uncredited)
Trieste Kelly Dunn	...	Date in "Blood Prom" (uncredited)
Gwenne Hudson	...	Baseball Mom (uncredited)

Directed by
Gregg Araki

Writing credits
Scott Heim		(novel)
Gregg Araki		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gregg Araki	....	producer
Wouter Barendrecht	....	executive producer
Beau J. Genot	....	associate producer
Chris Larsen	....	associate producer
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte	....	producer
Hans C. Ritter	....	co-producer
Hans C. Ritter	....	line producer
Mary Jane Skalski	....	producer
Michael J. Werner	....	executive producer
Joshua Zeman	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Harold Budd
Robin Guthrie

Cinematography by
Steve Gainer		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gregg Araki

Casting by
Shannon Makhanian

Production Design by
Devorah Herbert

Art Direction by
Morgan Blackledge		(as Morgan C. Blackledge)

Set Decoration by
Erin Smith		(as Erin K. Smith)

Costume Design by
Alix Hester

Makeup Department
Michelle Rene Elam	....	key hair stylist (as Michelle Elam Torres)
Nicole Le Bris	....	hair stylist: New York
Nicole Le Bris	....	makeup artist: New York
Fleur Morell	....	key makeup artist
Eleanor Sabaduquia	....	assistant makeup artist
Alexis Walker	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Beau J. Genot	....	post-production supervisor
Petra Hoebel	....	production manager: New York
Lisa Looney	....	production supervisor
Per Melita	....	production manager: New York
Hans C. Ritter	....	unit production manager (as Hans Christian Ritter)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather I. Denton	....	second assistant director
Jordan Brendan Finnegan	....	second second assistant director (as Jordan Finnegan)
Gavin Kleintop	....	second second assistant director
W. Alex Korp	....	first assistant director (as Ale Korp)

Art Department
Treven Bedwell	....	property master
Erin Cabeen	....	art department intern
Shannon Cabeen	....	art department intern
Jonathan Dortch	....	assistant property master
Sally Geier	....	art department intern
Rob Henning	....	leadman
Stacy L. Henning	....	swing
Jennifer Ireland	....	art department intern (as Jen Ireland)
Mathew Klickstein	....	on-set dresser
Scott Schutzki	....	swing
Pete Steinke	....	swing
Andrew 'Pinky' Swartsel	....	swing (as A. Corey Swartsel)

Sound Department
Bryan Arenas	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Steven Avila	....	sound effects editor (as Steve Avila)
James Bailey	....	foley artist
Trip Brock	....	supervising sound editor
Bob Fisher	....	boom operator
Heather Fox	....	sound coordinator: post-production
Michael J. Fox	....	adr supervisor (as Mike Fox)
Michael J. Fox	....	foley editor (as Mike Fox)
Eric Hoeschen	....	foley artist
Peter D. Lago	....	first assistant sound editor (as Peter Lago)
Coleman Metts	....	production sound mixer
Peter Oreckinto	....	optical soundtrack: DJ Audio
Jackie Oster	....	dialogue editor
Mark A. Rozett	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Mark Rozett)
Elana Saviolis	....	sound coordinator: post-production
Geordy Sincavage	....	foley mixer
Geordy Sincavage	....	sound effects editor
Melissa Strater	....	sound coordinator: post-production (as Melissa Strater-Brock)
Kelly Vandever	....	sound re-recording mixer
Randolph Saucedo	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
David Waine	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Mark S. Driscoll	....	visual effects supervisor: Look Effects
Henrik Fett	....	visual effects supervisor: Look Effects
Chad Buehler	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Eddie Matthews	....	stunt driver (as Eddie Mathews)
Lou Simon	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Sebastián Almeida	....	first assistant camera: New ork (as Sebastian Almeida)
Todd Barron	....	director of photography: second unit
Craig Bauer	....	camera loader
Bernard Cistrunk	....	electrician
Josh Daneshgar	....	grip intern
Matthew Deetsch	....	additional electrician
Mark Evans	....	grip (as Mark E. Evans)
Eric Forand	....	additional grip
Ben Gamble	....	gaffer
Jerry Gregoricka	....	electrician (as Jerry C. Gregoricka)
Joshua Harper	....	additional electrician
Jarrod Heath	....	electrician
Trevor Houghton	....	best boy electric
Milan Janicin	....	second assistant camera (as Milan 'Miki' Janicin)
Todd Kirschner	....	key grip
Jaime R. Mejia	....	additional electrician
Patrick Okamura	....	camera intern
Hernan Michael Otaño	....	director of photography: New York (as Michael Otano)
Omar Pena	....	grip
Marcos V. Perez	....	grip (as Marcos V. Pérez)
Ryan Purvis	....	additional grip
Rocky Romines	....	grip (as Rocky 'Rockman' Romines)
Shereen Saleh	....	first assistant camera
Lacey Terrell	....	still photographer
Victoria Tidmarch	....	additional camera loader
William Todd	....	additional electrician
Carlos Verón	....	gaffer: New York
Bradford Whitaker	....	electrician
Steve Gainer	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Mark McIntire	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jennifer Goldstein	....	casting assistant
Katya Lidsky	....	casting assistant (as Katja Lidsky)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carla Haupt	....	costume intern
Prudence Stein	....	costume intern
Pamela Walt	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Alex Blatt	....	post-production coordinator
Alana Greenfield	....	negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting
Terry Haggar	....	color timer
Vivian Hengsteler	....	negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting
Eden Williams	....	negative cutter: Viv Kim Negative Cutting

Music Department
Jenée DeAngelis	....	music coordinator (as Jenee Clark)
Bradford Ellis	....	score engineer
Bradford Ellis	....	score programmer
Howard Paar	....	music supervisor
Ronald J. Webb	....	music editor (as Ron Webb)
Tracy McKnight	....	executive soundtrack producer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Jaime Chapparo	....	additional driver (as Jaime Chaparro)
Mac 'Buck' Cook	....	driver
Guy Johnson	....	transportation captain (as Guy 'Bone' Johnson)
Eli Lozano	....	driver (as Eli James Lozano)
Sandra Ninham	....	additional driver
Stephen 'Stevo' Pate	....	transportation coordinator
Marco Ruiz	....	additional driver (as Marco A. Ruiz)
Bobby Weaver	....	driver
Alexander Yurchikov	....	additional driver

Other crew
Jodi Andrade	....	craft service
Nicolas Barclift	....	office production assistant
Luis Brito	....	chef
Carly Brown	....	production coordinator
Louis Caric	....	set production assistant (as Louis A. Caric)
Dave Carlson	....	set production assistant
Martine Charnow	....	production intern
Diana Cheng	....	production intern
James Debbs	....	assistant: Mary Jane Skalski
Rex Dominguez	....	set production assistant
Jonathan Dortch	....	location scout
Colin Elliott	....	production intern
John B. Finn	....	post-production accountant: JFA Inc. (as John Finn)
Debra Fontenot	....	location scout
Susan Gabbay	....	location scout: New York
Jonny Gillette	....	location assistant
Matthew I. Goldberg	....	assistant location manager (as Matthew Goldberg)
Jonathan Gray	....	production counsel: Spinak & Gray
Todd Hall	....	title designer: F-Stop
Janet Harold	....	location scout
Katherine Hensley	....	accounting intern
Tony Hill	....	medic
Teresa L. Humphreys	....	payroll services: Axium/Avalon (as Teresa Humphreys)
Jennifer Kennedy	....	location scout
James R. Kerrigan	....	title designer: F-Stop (as Jim Kerrigan)
Maria Kerrigan	....	title designer: F-Stop
Mathew Klickstein	....	location scout
Chris Lum	....	medic
Michael Masarof	....	production assistant: New York
Joe McGraw	....	location scout
Jan McWilliams	....	script supervisor
Ross Miller	....	insurance: DR Reiff & Associates
Naomi Motohashi	....	location manager (as N. Motohashi)
Steve Pawera	....	production accountant
Guillermo Pena-Tapia	....	production assistant: New York (as Guillermo Pena Tapia)
Anthony Pizzarelli	....	medic
Lynn Raines	....	welfare worker
Roy A. Ruiz Jr.	....	security: Independent Security Co. (as Roy Ruiz Jr.)
Robert Spinak	....	production counsel: Spinak & Hray (as Rob Spinak)
Susan J. Spohr	....	customer satisfaction: CFI (as Susan Spohr)
David Witten	....	production intern
Fei Wong	....	additional set production assistant
Ian M. Stratford	....	production counsel (uncredited)

Thanks
Andrew Bentler	....	special thanks
Peter Billingsley	....	thanks
Eunice Lee	....	thanks
Robert Messinger	....	special thanks
Sigur Rós	....	special thanks
Warren Zavala	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Desperate Pictures
• Antidote Films (I)
• Fortissimo Film Sales

Distributors

• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 21st Century Pictures (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Alberto Bitelli Intl. Films (2005) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm (2005) (Canada) (DVD)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Hopscotch Productions (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Metacinema (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Notro Films (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Paris Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Strand Releasing (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• SubTV (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• TLA Releasing (2005-????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tartan Films (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2005-????) (USA) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Look Effects (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Axium/Avalon Entertainment Services  payroll services (as Axium/Avalon)
• CFI  dailies
• Cinelease  grip and lighting equipment
• Cinetic Media  sales
• Commotion Records  soundtrack released by
• D.R. Reiff & Associates  insurance (as DR Reiff & Associates)
• DJ Audio  optical track (as DJ Audio)
• Entertainment Post  telecine
• F-Stop  titles
• Fuji Film  film stock
• Hollywood Caterers  catering
• Independent Security, Los Angeles  security (as Independent Security Co.)
• J.L. Fisher  camera dollies (as JL Fisher)
• JFA  post-production accounting services
• Metamusic Studios  score recording facility (as Metamusic)
• Monkeyland Audio  post-production sound services
• Panavision  lenses and cameras
• Smith & Webster-Davis Casting  extras casting
• Spinak & Gray  production counsel
• Summit Cranes  crane services
• Viv Kim Negative Cutting Service  negative cutting (as Viv Kim Negative Cutting)

Also Known As:

Anoihti pligi (Greece) [el]
Mistérios da Carne (Brazil) [pt]
Mysterious Skin (France) [fr]
Mysterious Skin - Unter die Haut (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Piel misteriosa (Argentina) (festival title) [es]
Souvenirs dans la peau (Canada: French title) [fr]

Runtime:

99 min | USA:107 min (Sundance Channel Library Print)

Country:

USA | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Brazil:18 | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia) | USA:NC-17 | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:18 | Finland:K-18 (TV rating) (2007) (self applied) | Portugal:M/18 (Qualidade) | France:-16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Ireland:18 | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Desperate Pictures

Trivia:

Original novelist Scott Heim wrote a draft screenplay which he then entered into the Sundance screenwriting lab. Gregg Araki was on the judging panel and the two became friends. Eventually it was mooted that Araki himself tackle the material.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Multiple characters are seen using models of Pilot pens that did not exist at the time.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brian: [narration voice-over] The summer I was 8 years old, five hours disappeared from my life. Five hours. Lost. Gone without a trace.
Brian: [narration voice-over] Last thing I remember I was sitting on the bench at my Little League game. It started to rain. What happened after that remains a pitch black void.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

Drive Blind

Rise Like Two Angels In The Night... And Disappear

Araki's newest film takes on a much more subtle note. The darkness of his other films is again apparent and gone are the many bizarre comic reliefs. The movie goes deep deep into story, even to tackle a really hard to watch subject about love and sex between men and little boys.

The story revolves around Niel, how he grew up and had his first climax from seeing another man get off. This lead to a deep interest in the older man, the little league coach and how he seemed to be everything young Niel wanted. Cut to the other main role, Brain, a geeky kid who for some reason, seemed to have had a blackout one day and was believed to have been abducted by space aliens(again an Araki tradition in movies.). his story revolves around his obsession with aliens and how and why and who abducted him in the dark time he's forgotten. Niel found his soul mate Wendy very young and she's since moved to New York to find more to life than living in Kansas with no goal in life. Niel wants to follow her as well since his prostitution to local Joe's at the park has run sour. What he finds about new york however is that with a bigger city, he will have more problems and issues with his Kansas style. Niel's and Brian's path intertwine eventually over something perhaps both of them would like to forget, but should get through it so they can move on with their lives.

The acting in this is Very real, and while at times Niel comes off as cocky, its said by Wendy as "Where normal people have a heart, Niel McCormick has a bottomless black hole. And if you don't watch out you can fall in and get lost forever". There's a few select scenes that seem to go over the top with lewd and violent expressions so try and take heed before watching this. The music was simply amazing. It reminded me some of Endless Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, with very deep and sad music all through it. The movie is very dark and some parts are very depressing, but its worth watching to have everything explained in the end.

Personal bias: I've seen four of Araki's films so far, with Nowhere being my favorite. Araki seems to be able to get some pretty huge stars and put them in roles you wouldn't exactly picture them fitting well in but this really tested main character Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I viewed it alone and with a complete open mind, as its most times required to really soak in the mood of such films. It took me in and really got to me. This style film is definitely meant to look deeper into relationships, and why people are the way they are. The meaning in the end reminded me a lot of Nowhere's with the wish that people could just go to another world like angels, or aliens. Do not look for comedy here but instead a deep meaningful story with some really controversial scenes, but also an amazing musical score, and superb acting.