First of all let me just say that i was really looking forward to 'Mysterious Skin', I had read and heard a lot about the story itself and the themes and situations it was based on. Hearing about it i immediately thought that this sounded like my type of movie. I wasn't wrong, on paper this is the type of story that really draws me in with characters and situations that i can really relate to.
However, When i finally did see 'Mysterious Skin' i honestly felt completely let down. A project which for me had so much potential to really blow me away, and affect me in a way that very few films are able to these days, ended up being a major disappointment in more ways than one.
To begin with i really thought that the actors (in central roles) just weren't good enough to carry the weighty subject matter. I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was really interested to see him in this role but unfortunately i just didn't believe him as Neil, there were a couple of redeeming points (for instance, when the three friends are threatened by the guy with a gun in the pick-up, and Neil hangs out of the car window howling) but for the most part i found his performance to be heavy handed and obvious in a way that wouldn't let me accept him as the character. It's not like i don't like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, i do. i really wanted him to rise to the level that this role demanded but i never felt he did. Then there's Michelle Trachtenberg, Who despite what people may say can act, but for me her character in this was just too one dimensional, too simple, there was just no depth to her, and i really didn't feel the ultimate friendship bond between them (wendy & neil) either. On the other hand i did feel that Elisabeth Shue was very effective in her role as neil's mother, and similarly Chase Ellison and Bill Sage both gave excellent performances in their smaller parts, but sadly this did nothing to counteract the other central performances which were left lacking.
I've heard so many people describe this movie as beautiful, disturbing, difficult to watch, powerful and highly realistic, for me none of these seemed appropriate. There are several nice touches throughout the movie but i never got emotionally involved with the main characters (which i mainly attribute to their performances), this meant that when the director started to crank up the explicit scenes and the characters found themselves in more and more difficult situations i just didn't really care that much. The pivotal rape which really ought to be one of the most powerful and disturbing scene's in the film (although shocking due to the physicality of the action) left me feeling that if only it had been shot differently with more attention paid to certain details that it would have been much more effective.
The other thing that really bothered me about the movie was the clean finish that seemed to be prevalent throughout, a great example of this for me was Michelle Trachtenberg's look. I understand that she is a beautiful girl and there is nothing you can do about that, but it just didn't feel conducive with the character (a young small town girl, with no prospects, no visible parents and a prostitute for a best friend) to have her looking so good and well made up throughout. This also bothered me about the look of Neil after the rape. I guess i'm trying to say it just didn't feel gritty enough to come across as believable to me, and certainly not enough to seriously disturb or affect me.
In short, my conclusions are that even thought this story appeals to me so much the actual execution of the production itself has delivered a bland, heavy handed, boring in places, ineffective movie with a central performance that just didn't fill the shoes of Neil's character and in doing so this (coupled with bad scripting and shallow supporting figures) put the whole picture out of balance.
I wanted to like this movie, Believe me i did. But it simply was not good enough.
However, When i finally did see 'Mysterious Skin' i honestly felt completely let down. A project which for me had so much potential to really blow me away, and affect me in a way that very few films are able to these days, ended up being a major disappointment in more ways than one.
To begin with i really thought that the actors (in central roles) just weren't good enough to carry the weighty subject matter. I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was really interested to see him in this role but unfortunately i just didn't believe him as Neil, there were a couple of redeeming points (for instance, when the three friends are threatened by the guy with a gun in the pick-up, and Neil hangs out of the car window howling) but for the most part i found his performance to be heavy handed and obvious in a way that wouldn't let me accept him as the character. It's not like i don't like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, i do. i really wanted him to rise to the level that this role demanded but i never felt he did. Then there's Michelle Trachtenberg, Who despite what people may say can act, but for me her character in this was just too one dimensional, too simple, there was just no depth to her, and i really didn't feel the ultimate friendship bond between them (wendy & neil) either. On the other hand i did feel that Elisabeth Shue was very effective in her role as neil's mother, and similarly Chase Ellison and Bill Sage both gave excellent performances in their smaller parts, but sadly this did nothing to counteract the other central performances which were left lacking.
I've heard so many people describe this movie as beautiful, disturbing, difficult to watch, powerful and highly realistic, for me none of these seemed appropriate. There are several nice touches throughout the movie but i never got emotionally involved with the main characters (which i mainly attribute to their performances), this meant that when the director started to crank up the explicit scenes and the characters found themselves in more and more difficult situations i just didn't really care that much. The pivotal rape which really ought to be one of the most powerful and disturbing scene's in the film (although shocking due to the physicality of the action) left me feeling that if only it had been shot differently with more attention paid to certain details that it would have been much more effective.
The other thing that really bothered me about the movie was the clean finish that seemed to be prevalent throughout, a great example of this for me was Michelle Trachtenberg's look. I understand that she is a beautiful girl and there is nothing you can do about that, but it just didn't feel conducive with the character (a young small town girl, with no prospects, no visible parents and a prostitute for a best friend) to have her looking so good and well made up throughout. This also bothered me about the look of Neil after the rape. I guess i'm trying to say it just didn't feel gritty enough to come across as believable to me, and certainly not enough to seriously disturb or affect me.
In short, my conclusions are that even thought this story appeals to me so much the actual execution of the production itself has delivered a bland, heavy handed, boring in places, ineffective movie with a central performance that just didn't fill the shoes of Neil's character and in doing so this (coupled with bad scripting and shallow supporting figures) put the whole picture out of balance.
I wanted to like this movie, Believe me i did. But it simply was not good enough.