Mysterious Skin

An interesting study of two young men who are both abused by their Little League Coach in the summer of '81. Aged just 8 years old at the time, the already vastly different boys are both irreversibly altered by their traumatic experience. Neil McCormick is an openly gay hustler who turns tricks for kicks in small-town America. Meanwhile Brian Lackey has blanked out most of what occurred and prefers to believe he was abducted by aliens. On a quest for the truth and armed with some fuzzy memories, Brian tracks Neil down. Given the subject matter many may find this off-beat approach to pedophilia bizarre; however, the movie subtly acknowledges the long-term trauma and damage to both the boys. The two leads, especially Gordon-Levitt, are excellent, with only Buffy's little sister (Michelle Trachtenberg) letting proceedings down.