Mysterious Skin

 

    Honestly, watching Mysterious Skin has probably been the hardest film for me to watch. I knew right after Amy gave us the trigger warning that I would have a hard time watching this movie. I had to take multiple pauses, especially during the scenes with the coach, as well as whenever Neil had sexual encounters with the older men. 

    One particular scene that upset me the most was when Neil was beaten and raped by the man who repeatedly called him a 'slut'. I have never scene a movie like this before, connecting a traumatic childhood rape experience with homosexuality. I don't even know if I can call it that if I'm being completely honest. Neil doesn't come out and labels his sexuality, but he does have sex with only older men. I'm not quite sure if that's a result of his coach 'grooming' him, but I do get the sense that he doesn't have sex with these men because he enjoys it. 

    I think one of the main reasons I had such difficulties finishing this movie in one sitting was because of the fact that children were involved in this narrative. It made me start thinking about how the child actors might have felt about acting these parts. Like, did they have an understanding of what their role was in the film? Did they have nightmares about playing these characters? If I were to play either one of these characters, or a children experiencing rape and grooming, I would be horrified. Throughout the whole movie, I just felt super uncomfortable, but am glad I was able to get through it.