Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The issue of child sexual abuse is an incredibly difficult one to broach, especially on the big screen - Gregg Araki manages to tell the story of these two young men from a dispassionate and sometime uncompromisingly detached perspective, whilst allowing the viewer to empathise with the two young men and the situation that they find themselves in.
This film is not for the faint hearted. Possibly the hardest scene to watch is where Joseph Gordon-Levitt, playing a rent boy, is raped - and yet I felt that this scene truly brought to the fore, the incredible turmoil going on inside this youth - the source of his self-destructive behaviour.
Despite the controversial and emotive material that forms the backdrop for this film, the journey of healing that ultimately emerges in the closing scenes is heartwarming and hopeful.
I would highly recommend this film.
This film is not for the faint hearted. Possibly the hardest scene to watch is where Joseph Gordon-Levitt, playing a rent boy, is raped - and yet I felt that this scene truly brought to the fore, the incredible turmoil going on inside this youth - the source of his self-destructive behaviour.
Despite the controversial and emotive material that forms the backdrop for this film, the journey of healing that ultimately emerges in the closing scenes is heartwarming and hopeful.
I would highly recommend this film.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Creepy pedos in baseball-playing, mom-loving, apple pie-eating small town America? You bet. And because it is devoid of an "after school special" sentimentality or Spielberg gloss, it feels that more chilling and bold and real.
An uncomfortable film to watch, but resonant for me as someone who grew up gay in 1980s Kansas. Details like the Little League games, the Halloween spook house and the shady characters cruising the park were all spot on, although I doubt the film will be championed by the Kansas Travel & Tourism Division.
I've not read Scott Heim's book on which this film is based, but on reading his background you realise each of the youths in the film is a manifestation of himself. He claims to have seen a UFO with his family, excelled in school and lived with his single mom after a divorce (like Brian), he announced baseball games (like Neil) and his infatuation with cosmetics and British goth pop made him the subject of death threats (like Eric).
Altogether that means there's a lot of truth to what's being depicted, no matter how dangerous or taboo some may consider the subject matter. I think Araki should be praised for making a mockery of the American movie ratings by filming such an explicit movie that doesn't show a thing. I've seen European art-house films with twice as much flesh which were half as frank. I think what disturbs people most is there is no moralising, no revenge and no happy ending where learning the truth frees the tortured characters from their shattered lives.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the stand-out from the cast, with Michelle Trachtenberg failing to bring any weight to the film's more poignant scenes because her dialogue was too 'writerly' (saying things that people may think but rarely voice).
I was disappointed that the film was not filmed in Kansas, but they did an excellent job finding places in California which were strikingly similar.
An uncomfortable film to watch, but resonant for me as someone who grew up gay in 1980s Kansas. Details like the Little League games, the Halloween spook house and the shady characters cruising the park were all spot on, although I doubt the film will be championed by the Kansas Travel & Tourism Division.
I've not read Scott Heim's book on which this film is based, but on reading his background you realise each of the youths in the film is a manifestation of himself. He claims to have seen a UFO with his family, excelled in school and lived with his single mom after a divorce (like Brian), he announced baseball games (like Neil) and his infatuation with cosmetics and British goth pop made him the subject of death threats (like Eric).
Altogether that means there's a lot of truth to what's being depicted, no matter how dangerous or taboo some may consider the subject matter. I think Araki should be praised for making a mockery of the American movie ratings by filming such an explicit movie that doesn't show a thing. I've seen European art-house films with twice as much flesh which were half as frank. I think what disturbs people most is there is no moralising, no revenge and no happy ending where learning the truth frees the tortured characters from their shattered lives.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the stand-out from the cast, with Michelle Trachtenberg failing to bring any weight to the film's more poignant scenes because her dialogue was too 'writerly' (saying things that people may think but rarely voice).
I was disappointed that the film was not filmed in Kansas, but they did an excellent job finding places in California which were strikingly similar.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie was far from being rubbish. I am not one to watch gory details when it comes to human life, but nor I'm I able to watch mind-numbing boring and easy movies either. The summary got me, and I had to rent it. This movie dealt with a lot more than more or any gay themed movies can ever imagine. It was heart felt, shocking, scary and damn right vomit worthy at times. But all that brought in such a powerful storyline. We always get hit with political stories in movies, especially when it deals with aids or rape. But this movie dealt with how two people suffered the same incident but how different they were as people and how differently they took the incident.
A fan of the movie, and will be off the book once I get around to buying it. The warnings are all there, if you still pick it up and don't like it, don't blame it on the theme.
A fan of the movie, and will be off the book once I get around to buying it. The warnings are all there, if you still pick it up and don't like it, don't blame it on the theme.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant but for the faint hearted
This movie holds no punches and yet is not crude or insensetive to the highly contentious subject that it is dealing with. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joe N
Not for the faint hearted
The film had me engrossed all the way through.
It follows the lives of two young men that were sexually abused as children, and shows how their lives have turned out as a... Read more
It follows the lives of two young men that were sexually abused as children, and shows how their lives have turned out as a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. Slater
Brilliant and disturbing.
I had wanted to see this film for some time, but kept putting it off. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Neil McCormick who is seduced by his Little league baseball coach when he is... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tommy D
Deeply moving, oddly poetic film about child abuse and its aftermath.
Joseph Gordon Levitt, Brady Corbet and Bill Sage all give terrific, nuanced performances.
An occasional clunky moment, but this is brave, tender, yet deeply disturbing... Read more
An occasional clunky moment, but this is brave, tender, yet deeply disturbing... Read more
Published 14 months ago by K. Gordon
Captivating
My Thoughts:
Films that captivate me rarely ever come along, which is why I found "Mysterious Skin" such a surprise. Read more
Films that captivate me rarely ever come along, which is why I found "Mysterious Skin" such a surprise. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Dismal Angel
Thoughtprovoking, poetic drama that gets under your skin
I did not know what to expect when I rented this film, I thought it would just be another arthouse-style coming of age drama. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2009 by Flmfn
Haunting and deeply shocking!
Without a doubt this is easily one of the most powerful and shocking movies I have seen.I didn't know what hit me. Read more
Published on 31 July 2009 by Mr. A. J. Ralph
A great movie which pulls no punches
This movie is concerned with the uncomfortable topic of child sex abuse, and has been criticised elsewhere for allegedly adopting an amoral stance to it. Read more
Published on 20 May 2009 by xao-lin
What a load of junk!
I bought this DVD on the recommendation of someone to whom I was chatting on the Internet. He said it was a really good picture. Well, it cost me £13 and it arrived this morning. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2009 by Mr. David B. Rayner
"Where normal people have a heart, Neil McCormick has a bottomless...
I went to the local arts centre to see this movie with my partner. The opening ten minutes was such an uncomfortable experience, involving as it does the seduction of a preteen boy... Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2008 by Nicholas Casley
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
