Mysterious Skin (2005)

The first 10 minutes or so were very hard to watch. I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to continue with the film. I'm glad I did.

This film is certainly not for everyone...I'd venture to say it's not for MOST. Two young boys with an experience in common grow up in opposite directions: one's a swaggering hustler without a thought for his own safety and the other's an inhibited momma's boy. From the viewer's point of view, there's not much of a mystery -- but the two leads make me believe that the full truth was not accessible to them.

Michelle Trachtenberg, again, feels like she's playing dress-up in a role that's just too big for her. She plays things a little too aloof and gets it wrong. When she's on the screen, the organic feel of the film is thrown off and it feels a bit like a high school play.

A-