MYSTERIOUS SKIN ***

Though it was hardly the kind of film that was likely to turn up at your multiplex Gregg Araki's MYSTERIOUS SKIN is probably his most accessible film. It's about two boys linked by a strange, symbiotic relationship that hinges on the fact that they were both sexually abused as children. One, Brady Corbet, has erased the memory of it, choosing instead to believe that he was abducted by aliens; the other, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, taking a much more pragmatic approach to his abuse, acknowledging his homosexuality and choosing the career of a gay hustler.

It's obvious from quite early on that Araki's movie isn't going to be your conventional view of paedophilia. It certainly doesn't condone it, (the abuser is clearly shown as a predator), but, controversially, it also shows how different children react to being abused; Corbet's character by blocking all memory of what was clearly a horrific experience, Levitt's by embracing what he ultimately took to be an act of love. Both actors are extraordinary, particularly Levitt as the boy robbed of his childhood and forced to grow up much too fast.


Fans of Araki's more off-the-wall, experimental entries in New Queer Cinema may find this a tad too conventional but for what is essentially a film flirting with the mainstream it's certainly brave and prepared to tackle very sensitive issues which mainstream cinema would rather mostly forget. I found it admirable in every respect.