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Blackbird

By Golu
This film has his heart in the right place and could have been a very good film. Unfortunately it fails very short of that feat. The biggest problem with the film is lack of consistency. It never focusses on one single issue. The makers have tried to fit in every possible issue that needs to be addressed or talked about and in the process, any of those fails to register. Our main protagonist doesn’t get any space to explore all the issues that he is dealing with.

Randy, a 17 year old choir boy keeps having these wet dreams about making out with his fellow male singer and also a good friend. He is a devout of Jesus and prays everyday. But this is not the only issue. He lives with his mother who split up with his father after mysterious disappearance of their 5 year old daughter and now the mother is mentally not so stable. Fortunately Randy’s friends are all sweethearts and warmly embrace the possibility of him being gay, but it is he who keeps rejecting the notion. He ends up also becoming a part of gay version of Romeo & Juliet with his crush, his mate, who he still has a crush on and who seems to enjoy the attention equally. Things change when he meets Marshall, a 21 year old aspiring film maker, who hires Randy for one of his student films. Soon an affair begins which Randy’s mother finds out and blames his actions for the disappearance of their daughter. Randy feels responsible and wants to do everything for the family with the pastors help. In the meantime there are some side stories of teenagers losing virginity and unwanted pregnancy as well. As mysteriously as the daughter disappeared, she resurfaces and is found by police and the family comes back together. This time Randy is striker and makes it a point to see that marshall is also well accepted.

A coming of age film, this film can prove inspirational for young men struggling to come to terms with their sexuality but unfortunately fails to create a dramatic impact. It just gets lost trying to deal with way too many issues as mentioned above. And because of this,  as audience, we are not sure whether this was hard core drama or a high school camp kind of a film. The acting by everyone is pretty good, especially by father and mother. Randy is charming but a bit amateurish but on second thoughts, maybe thats expected of a 17-year old. I am not too sure. Only if the film focussed on a couple of main plots, it could have been that great film which it fails to become now. All issues like teenage pregnancy, gay musical, Randy’s sister, his friend getting STD, sexual violence; all are just touched upon and are dropped without any convincing conclusion. Barring these oddities, I still did enjoy the film. I wasn’t bored. There was always something happening, that kept you interested. But this film will fail to stick in miming for a long term.

This film bites off more than it can chew but still you can be assured, its not a bad film either. (6/10)
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