I've only seen two Greg Araki films so far, which were the really strange yet interesting
NOWHERE (6/10 or C+) and
SPLENDOR (7/10 or B ), which I really enjoyed. I've heard
THE DOOM GENERATION is really twisted and violent. If my video stores had it I'd rent it, but at the moment I'm not interested enough to rent it from Blockbuster Online.
MYSTERIOUS SKIN seems like one of his best yet. Like most all of his movies, it has a stellar cast. I really like Trachtenberg, Shue, and Corbett. And it just sounds like a really interesting film. I'm sure it will be kind of weird like most Araki films, but he said in a recent article I read in a magazine that since he was adapting a book, one which is so great the way it is, that he did it more straight-forward and was more interested in accurately adapting the book than adding his own special touch. So it might be less weird than some of his others. I kind of hope so because it's sure nice to have some answers sometimes. With
NOWHERE it was just weird and had a strange ending that leaves you not knowing what happened and you're not supposed to know. I don't know if there was even a real point to that movie. Yet it was interesting.
I'm definitely interested in this one and the NC-17 rating only makes me more interested. Obviously I won't get the chance to see this until it hits DVD, but when it does I will be seeing it A.S.A.P. This is probably Araki's best reviewed film. The reviews are great and the movie is doing really solid business in limited release.
"After several disappointments, Araki is on terra ferma with Mysterious Skin,another study of of youth anomie, a theme explored in his previous, more personal films."
-- Emanuel Levy, EMANUELLEVY.COM
"By the end of Mysterious Skin, I felt physically exhausted but I also felt satisfied at the way it all falls into place."
-- Don R. Lewis, FILM THREAT
"Gregg Araki delivers his most challenging and arguably most mature film."
-- David Rooney, VARIETY
"Pop iconography typically signifies the alienation of Araki's characters from the world, but in Mysterious Skin it ushers in their salvation."
-- Ed Gonzalez, SLANT MAGAZINE
"Dramatically shows how some victims of sexual abuse are affected."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE
"As a filmmaker, Araki, always brash, has rarely been so confident, creating a shimmering mood that allows for multiple shifts in perspective and register."
-- Dennis Lim, VILLAGE VOICE
Based Upon: The novel by Scott Heim.
Runtime: 1 hour and 39 minutes...
Release Date: May 6th, 2005 (LA/NY).
MPAA Rating: NC-17 for extreme sexual content, some involving children, including dialogue and a rape scene.
Distributor: Tartan Films
Production Company: Desperate Pictures (Splendor, Nowhere); Antidote Films (Thirteen, Wendigo)
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Michelle Trachtenberg, William Sage, Elisabeth Shue
Directed by: Gregg Araki
Produced by: Gregg Araki, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Mary Jane Skalski
PRODUCTION NOTES
THE ADAPTATION
MYSTERIOUS SKIN is the first time I've adapted someone else's material for the screen. It's really the only piece of material I've ever encountered that I've felt passionate and excited enough about to devote years of my life to making. I found the book incredibly powerful and moving, but I thought at first that it was one of those great novels that was unadaptable. The book goes even further than the film in exploring very challenging subject matter in a raw, unflinching way. It was disturbing but also fascinating the way it opened the door on events and relationships that happen all the time, but are never talked about. If the film adaptation turned its back on those really unsettling moments, there would be no point to making it - they're what make the story unique and ultimately so devastating. While the subject matter is dark and serious, I didn't want the film to be a dirge. I tried to inject humor whenever it was appropriate (i.e. Neil's first trick in New York) and sought to leaven the darkness of the material by making the film as beautiful and aesthetically rich as possible.
THE STORY
MYSTERIOUS SKIN, to me, is about childhood. In the book, Scott ingeniously incorporates the iconography of suburban childhood, those little details everybody fondly remembers - Halloween, the variety packs of cereal, the feeling of being safe in a car when it's raining outside. These details are deeply engrained in everyone's memory and they make the emotional journey of the film universal. When you remember things that happened to you as a kid, there's a sort of a haziness to it. That's why the beginning of the film is more fragmented and impressionistic. Then as the story unfolds and the characters grow older, the scenes gradually become longer and more concrete.
None of my films has ever spanned such a long period of time in the lives of the characters. As a viewer, you experience so much with the characters - you go on a journey, share their childhood, grow up with them. Through experiencing such a range of events, devastating and otherwise, you come to understand why the characters are the way they are.
BRIAN
From 8-year-old Brian's point of view, the UFO is a monumental symbol of this traumatic event that's happened to him. That scene on the roof is a visualization of how the UFO becomes this huge thing he fixates on, which virtually takes over his life. Brady did such a great job conveying teenage Brian's turmoil, his innocence and nervousness. It's consistently there in his face and body language as well as in his reedy, halting voice. There's something achingly wounded and vulnerable about him that makes you want to take care of him.
NEIL
Neil is one of those characters where almost everything is below the surface. He doesn't talk much and most of his character is revealed through his actions, how he carries himself and moves through the world and especially in his eyes. Joe gives such a finely nuanced, subtle performance. He really got Neil and where he was coming from.
COACH
Bill Sage brought so much to the role of Coach - he's not just depicted as some two-dimensional monster. Although he's not really onscreen that much, his presence pervades every scene. It's almost like Coach is a ghost who haunts the entire movie. But MYSTERIOUS SKIN isn't about the coach. It's really about Brian and Neil and how they deal with what happens to them.
CASTING
We read dozens of actors for the lead roles and Brady and Joe both earned their parts fair and square by simply being the best Brian and Neil out there. They both really understood the material and were amazing to work with. Joe flew himself to Kansas to learn the accent and brought back tapes of the accent for the other actors. All of the actors were fearless and totally committed to the material; it was really gratifying and exciting to work with a cast of this caliber.
THE CAMERA
All my movies are heavily storyboarded. As I'm writing the script, the movie - how the camera moves, what the shots are - it's all in my head. More than any of my other films, I really pushed the subjective point-of-view envelope with MYSTERIOUS SKIN. The actors often speak directly to the camera. It all had to be very carefully planned. When I figured out this subjective strategy, the film became real to me.
THE AESTHETIC
Because the subject matter is so dark, I wanted the film to be incredibly beautiful and lush, the cinematic equivalent of the poetic language used in the novel. Through the camerawork, lighting, design and the voice over, I wanted to create this gorgeous, almost shimmering world where this dark stuff happens - basically the polar opposite of the "gritty", pseudo-documentary aesthetic currently in vogue.
THE SCORE
The original score is composed by ambient music legend Harold Budd and Cocteau Twins genius Robin Guthrie. I've been a huge fan of their work for years and the dreamy, ethereal tone of the film (and the book) is in fact inspired by music like theirs, so it was a real coup to get them to do the score. Neither had ever created a film score before and they were both amazing to work with.
THE CONCLUSION
There's something about the ending of the film that's kind of magical to me. It feels like just the right blend of darkness and light. It's not sugarcoated and hokey, but it's also not totally bleak. There's a ray of hope. The film ends with a question - which is exactly what I wanted. I hope that MYSTERIOUS SKIN really has an impact on people and breaks the silence about a taboo subject. To me, the story is enlightening and needs to be told. Experiencing it cinematically is so powerful because you can't look away - the film takes the audience on a sometimes troubling but ultimately rewarding and cathartic journey.
