Mysterious Skin

A compelling story marred somewhat by uneven storytelling, Araki leads us through the early lives of two Kansas boys, Brian (Brady Corbet) and Neil (Joseph Gordon Levitt), from their experiences as eight-year-old schoolchildren through to their late teenage years when, finally, they both come to terms with defining events in their early lives. For Neil, who has become a self-destructive rent boy, that event is serious sexual abuse at the hands of his baseball coach (Bill Sage). Although Araki struggles to find a consistent tone, his film remains powerful and unnerving.