Review of Mysterious Skin (2005) by Liana H — 15 Sep 2012

I love this film, it's easily one of my favourites, but at the same time I hate to watch it and I can't stand to look at it.

'Mysterious Skin' is absolutely unflinching in its realistic portrayal of sexual abuse in male children and how it affects these individuals as they grow and age. I want to look away, but I can't, and that's partly due to how well the film is handled, both by the perfect direction by Gregg Araki and the outstanding performances (especially Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

I am not ashamed to admit that I cry throughout the last 15-20 minutes of the film, watching in horror and sadness as the film evokes such strong emotional responses from deep within my very core.

'Mysterious Skin' is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen, and the only one to make me shudder and feel nauseous.

I don't even have to hesitate in giving it five stars, because if a film can do that to a person, even when causing conflicting emotions (as it rightly does here), it has done its job properly.