Mysterious Skin

Ok I say this movie just like that because it had a good rating in la presse and the gazette I think but either way I would like to educate the viewer on what this movie is about so that they can make a more informed decision. There were three groups in the theater this tuesday night. Two of them left by the first 45 minutes of the movie. Why? Because no one could really no what to expect of this movie by the description in the first page. Let me tell you then : It is an unglamourized, realistic portrayal of a homosexual teen who prostitutes himself as a means of getting by and who's pedophilic memories with his baseball coach as a kid marked his future by defining a large part of his identity. He learns the hard way about the nasty side of prostitution, etc... I have no problem realizing that this may be the story of a few living in small towns of the states but nevertheless, to see this being so gruesomely displayed is not an idea of a good tuesday night, for me at least. Either way, the most tragic feature of this film is that it didn't bring me a strong message of an ideal or a lesson learned from all of this. I guess that my bad review is a lesson enough, a lesson of how lucky I've been in my life so that I can watch these real-life horror stories through a film and not at the other side of the street. That may be a lesson enough but had I known what this movie was about, I could certainly say I wouldn't have gone to see it. I DO NOT endorse this movie for any entertainment feauture whatsoever and I am more open-minded than most about movies. YOu know there are real-life movies of small town teens that I have enjoyed, Raising victor Vargas being one of them. Even some tragedic movies such as the pianist or City Of God, although hard to watch at times, left me with hope, with a certain appreciation for the artistic quality of the production but this movie just didn't bring me anything I actually appreciated except for appreciating my life a little more. The fact that the actors really don't feel or seem like actors at all may very well go to their credit. They all play fairly unobvious roles. As far as the director is concerned, he obviously had some skeletons in his closet he felt like he had to purge. I hope it's done and that he would never have to do it again to prevent another unsuspecting viewer from entering the room of this kind of movie. The rating of 2 is to give credit to the actors who make you believe in the reality of this story, something of incredible difficulty.