Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault which some readers may find distressing.
Fans seeking films which leave an everlasting impression on them have been urged to watch a 'traumatising' but 'amazing' 2004 coming-of-age drama.
Anyone who has access to multiple streaming platforms will have likely wasted countless hours sifting through endless titles or new additions made available every day while looking for something to watch.
But film fans who are willing to spend a little longer digging will often come across hidden gems which end up sticking with them for life – be that in a good or a bad way.
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One such film that fits into this category is a 2004 drama film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet and Michelle Trachtenberg, which viewers have described as simultaneously 'excellent' and 'disturbing'.
Directed by Gregg Araki and adapted from a novel of the same name, Mysterious Skin follows the story of two young adults who are linked together by an experience they both had in childhood.
Gordon-Levitt stars as Neil McCormick, a young man who works as a prostitute in New York and finds himself attracted to older men, something which he believes stems from being sexually abused by his baseball coach as a child.
Meanwhile, Corbet plays the role of Brian Lackey, who still lives in their shared hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas.
Brian is consumed with the idea that he was abducted by aliens as a child due to suffering a five-hour blackout in the summer of 1981. He's also suffered from chronic nosebleeds, blackouts, and bedwetting for a number of years, which began to happen after his blackout.
Brian's mission to further understand his alien abduction leads him to cross paths with Neil, who returns to Kansas for Christmas after being brutally assaulted in New York.
The boy's meeting again as men triggers a chain of events in which Brian learns the harrowing truth about what happened to him on the night he believed himself to have been abducted.
Despite the heavy and harrowing subject matter, Mysterious Skin received a strong critical and commercial reception, with psychologist Richard Gartner saying the novel which the film is adapted from depicts one of the most accurate portrayals of the long-term effects of sexual abuse on boys.
The film continues to have a strong reaction to this day, with a Redditor describing Mysterious Skin as a film which 'wrecked' them in a recent thread discussing films.
"[I] watched this when I was 14 and still think about it 14 years later. Its a tough watch, but a great film," wrote one user.
"This is in my top 10 favourite movies of all time. It is very heavy, but the acting is incredible and something about the characters really spoke to me," wrote a second person, while a third added: "Watched this one recently after binging horror movies in October. Mysterious Skin is the only one that genuinely gave me nightmares."
Mysterious Skin is available to stream on BFI Player and Prime Video.
Male Survivors Partnership is available to support adult male survivors of sexual abuse and rape. You can contact the organisation on their website or on their free helpline 0808 800 5005, open 9am–8pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 8am–8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; 10am–2pm Saturdays.
Topics: Entertainment, Film
Brenna Cooper