Mysterious Skin

Based on a novel by Scott Heim, Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin" tells the parallel stories of two boys growing up in a small town in Kansas in the 1980's and early 90's. One, Brian Lackey (played first by George Webster and then in his late teenage years by Brady Corbet), believes that the nightmares and nosebleeds that afflict him throughout adolescence are results of an alien abduction that occurred in the summer of 1981, when he was a shy, frail 8-year-old. That same summer, Neil McCormick (Chase Ellison, and later, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was molested by his Little League coach (Bill Sage). Its subject matter may be grim — Mr. Araki addresses Neil's early and later sexual experiences with unflinching candor — but "Mysterious Skin" is infused with remarkable tenderness and beauty. It is the work of a onetime bad boy who has grown up without losing his ardent sympathy for the wildness of youth. It's also one of the best movies so far this year. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times

Entertaining, of course sitcom-actor-turned-movie-star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is undeniably cute (I watched '3rd Rock from the Sun' because of him). I dont see why the movie was rated R21 because there wasnt much explict scenes, however there were suggestive scenes that hinted on what was going to happen. The movie started off with two different parts and dont seemed to be closely connected besides that the two young leads were living in the same town and belonging to the same baseball league, however, it ended cleverly with everything coming together as a full story. Catch it. (Dont be surprised to see gay men sitting next to you.)