Review of Mysterious Skin (2005) by Rick P — 09 Feb 2009

Araki's first watchable movie in years, but not due to his filmmaking skills, which are still paltry - this movie clunks along like a wooden horse with three legs - but because of his actors: Gordon-Levitt, Shue, Riehle, Sage and even Trachtenberg, all of whom invest the sort of faith in the characters that araki usually lacks.

Anyway, unfortunately, it degenerates occasionally via stilted dialog and a short and thankfully aborted revenge reel, but, unlike another movie I just reviewed, Wild Tigers, there's very little that's coy about the approach to the sexual issues raised.