Honoring Michelle Trachtenberg in Mysterious Skin for a Timeless Tribute
It is heartbreaking to know that Michelle Trachtenberg, who played indelible roles in Disney’s Ice Princess, portrayed the Gossip
It is heartbreaking to know that Michelle Trachtenberg, who played indelible roles in Disney’s Ice Princess, portrayed the Gossip Girl, and became an annoying younger sister in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is no more.
We can’t stop ourselves from paying her tribute and revisiting Michelle Trachtenberg in Mysterious Skin, a 2004 film that won hearts.
Michelle Trachtenberg’s death
Michelle, 39, died on Wednesday at her luxury apartment in a New York residential, located midtown. She was unresponsive and was discovered by her mother, who called 911. The police visited the apartment shortly after 8 am.
No suspicious activity was suspected by NYPD, and the paramedics pronounced her dead on the spot.
According to The Guardian, medical examiners have not disclosed the cause of death yet due to the family’s objection to the autopsy owing to religious reasons. It is known that she had undergone a liver transplant, after which she might have faced health complications.
The family broke the news that Michelle has passed away, and no further details are present so far. They would like to maintain privacy.
Tributes to Michelle Trachtenberg from other stars
- Gossip Girl co-star, Blake Lively, wrote a heartfelt message on Instagram with Trachtenberg’s picture, saying,
“She was electricity. You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed. Everything she did, she did 200%.” [Source]
- Rosie O’Donnell co-starred in Harriet the Spy and was devastated to know about her demise. She explained that Trachtenberg “struggled the last few years”, indicating she might have persistent problems, either health-wise or other life issues. O’Donnell hoped she was there with her and could have helped her.
- Kim Cattrall, her co-star in Ice Princess, posted a beautiful picture of their scene from the movie with a touching note, “Rest in peace sweet Michelle”.
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Before officially stepping into the acting world, Michelle had worked in television commercials at the age of 3, per Deadline. She went on to work in the soap opera All My Children, after which she was able to secure a role in the Paramount film Harriet the Spy, based on the classic children’s novel of 1964, authored by Louise Fitzhugh.
- The actress made her debut in the 1996 comedy movie Harriet the Spy when she was only 10 years old. The director, Bronwen Hughes, also explained how it was working with her. Based on The Hollywood Reporter’s news, the project was special to both of them.
He spoke of her as an electrifying part of his cast as she had just the right conviction for Harriet’s role. He disclosed,
“She had the acting gene that you can’t really teach. It’s innate.”
- Princess Eugenie, a member of the British Royal Family, mourned the loss of her special friend and praised her for her qualities like thoughtfulness and generosity. The princess thanked her for the innumerable memories, one of which was unique. The princess liked listening to her order the food as Michelle wanted to get exactly what everyone wanted. She is now a source of joy and happy memories for Princess Eugenie.
Michelle Trachtenberg’s performances made a meaningful impact
All of the roles ever played, starting from a young age, have been engraved on the minds of the young viewers who have now grown up watching her perform effortlessly on screen.
She has left some great childhood memories in the audience’s minds that they are not ready to let go of yet. Gossip Girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ice Princess, and Mysterious Skin are all ineradicable examples of the said fact.
Even in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she played the younger sister Dawn, who was irritating for some of us, but this is what made her character memorable. The role earned her Teen Choice Award nomination in 2001, as per ABC News. This is the proof right there that she pitched it perfectly and left an unforgettable impression that it was meant to, even after two decades.
The plot of Mysterious Skin
Mysterious Skin (2004) is based on a novel by Scott Heim, initially published in 1995. It has an awesome Goodreads rating of 4.2. Although Trachtenberg’s role was smaller than the other female cast members, it was a significant role in her career where she let the audience know that she has now grown from being the kid in The Adventures of Pete and Pete (1994-1996) or Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000-2003).
Take a look:
It was the same year when Euro Trip was released, which was a teen comedy movie that did not manage to gain a high rating or positive reviews. Again, it was Trachtenberg’s transformation into a young lady, portrayed brilliantly in her subsequent projects.
Mysterious Skin is about two eight-year-old boys who were sexually abused by their baseball coach and had to deal with their trauma in their own distinct ways. The boys were preyed on, and their coping mechanisms became tricks for endurance.
Neil (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) became emotionally hollow and became a gay hustler, deeming it as love. Brian (played by Brady Corbet) hatches a conspiracy theory to shun the unbearable reality that he experienced an alien abduction.
What was the role of Michelle Trachtenberg in Mysterious Skin?
How does Michelle Trachtenberg fit in Mysterious Skin? She is Neil’s soulmate, Wendy, who thinks Neil has a beautiful heart. Both the boys were neglected and were in constant denial for the horrific incident that they had to go through, the boys were seen relying on their peers instead.
Wendy was the kind of person whom best friends could always turn to for help. She was their listening ear and they could dump their secrets into her. She would not judge you and stay by your side, no matter what happens.
Her role made us yearn for such genuine friendship, one person whose companionship meant the world to us. She was the one who would make it all work and help her friends, especially when she supported Neil in landing a job to stay away from sex work.
Mysterious Skin is Trachtenberg’s highest-rated movie ever. It had a controversial subject but was highly acclaimed by the audience for the pivotal landing that it made during the 2000s.
It was a daring risk that the director Gregg Araki took to craft an upfront narrative that audiences of that time were not used to yet. The debatable New Queer Cinema movement in the 1990s was established where Araki’s name was highlighted with this movie’s approach, cited by Little White Lies.
Trachtenberg portrayed her roles as a ‘cool’ kid. With her unique style and demeanor, she easily mesmerized the audience, which is verified by her co-stars. It was all due to her magnetic personality and electrifying appeal that she has left us to cherish for the rest of our lives.
Genre: Drama
IMDb rating: 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 86 percent on Tomatometer (critics score) and 89 percent on Popcornmeter
Cast: Michelle Trachtenberg, Brady Corbet, Elisabeth Shue, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Director: Gregg Araki
Producers: Gregg Araki, Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Mary Jane Skalski
Writers: Gregg Araki, Scott Heim
Initial release date: September 11, 2004
Movie runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
Have you watched the movie? How was Michelle Trachtenberg’s performance?
