Turtle Hill, Brooklyn

This film reminded me so much of Ferzan Özpetek’s films that I have seen over the years. A very similar setup, specially to the Italian film ‘Saturno contro’. But I am not gonna judge this film based on that. We all have inspirations and as long as we still end up producing a good piece of cinema, I am going to appreciate it and enjoy it. This film falls in the same category and was a very pleasant experience in a lot of departments which we will talk about later. The title of the film comes from the name of the neighbourhood in Brooklyn where the protagonists live.

The premise of the film is a birthday party. Will and Mateo have been together for sometime and it is Will’s 30th birthday and they are hosting a party for their closed ones and friends in the backyard of their apartment. Mateo is Latino and is frustrated with his career not going anywhere and we then find out that Will is not out to his family. Soon after the plethora of friends start pouring in and the plot just follows a party with the interactions between guests. Both Will and Mateo are unsettled emotionally, as are many of their party guests who engage in conversations of love, sexuality, politics, age and ethnicity. New secrets are revealed when Will’s gym trainer comes and kisses Will but it turns out it is Mateo who had slept with him a couple of time sand is now scared that his secret is gonna come out. It is on this birthday in presence of the guests that Will and Mateo have to try to figure out why they are not the happy, loving couple they want to be.

First things, the acting and the whole setting is pretty natural. No one seems to be acting and thats the biggest USP of the film. Friends--straight and gay--arrive, liquor and conversation are flowing, and everything appears to be as it should be. We know that there's a serious underlying tension between the two men, but this isn't obvious to most of their friends. Camera flows smoothly between all the characters. Everyone is given sometime and but none of the characters are probably established including the main leads. I think this has a good potential to become a web or TV series where all these individual stories can be established. Filmed on probably very low budget, I will still congratulate the director for finding actors who are natural, where the flow of scenes are natural and it makes sense. Sure, from a story perspective there may not have been anything conclusive to say but the director knows his craft and I think he can do a good job in making more films

Essentially Turtle Hill, Brooklyn is a snapshot in the life of a couple who are reaching a turning point in their relationship. It wasn't really a great party, and it wasn't really a great film, but the movie had its moments, and its charm, and it exudes honesty, authenticity and transparency. (6.5/10)

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