The Journey of Jared Price

Dustin Lance Black is the name that became famous, at least for me, after his phenomenal oscar winning speech for Milk. So, when I realized that this film was directed by the said man, my expectations were high, but, to be fair to the man, this film came much before Milk came and hence I had to give him some slack even in terms of expectations. The film is actually a simple yet vulnerable story of a young man's search for independence and sexual discovery; the people who he meets along this journey, the deceit, the loneliness and perhaps a chance to love.

Young and very innocent 19 year old Jared arrives in LA from Georgia and books himself in a hostel. Jared’s room mate is hustler and he needs to use his room with clients often. Jared has no choice but to live with this arrangement. During one such time,, is when he meets Robert, openly gay, they become friends and even share a kiss but Jared is still an inexperienced man and doesn’t know what he wants. He soon finds a job as sitter and caregiver to blind Mrs Haine. He is hired by her son Matthew. Matthew is in a stable relationship with his boyfriend but is dealing with some issues. Things change when Matthew asks Jared to move in with his mom, so that he can better look after her. But the very first night, Matthew gets Jared drunk and the two have sex. Jared has no idea about Matthew’s relationship and he feels that if he gives his best to Matthew, his life could be good. When he shares this with Robert, he is disappointed but asks Jared to be careful.  One night Matthew thinks of having a threesome with his partner Jared, an idea that surprises the two guys, who till that moment did not know of each other’s existence and also an idea that disgusts both of them. Jared has now the tough decision on whether to continue his relationship with Matthew or just leave, ultimately being either homeless and jobless again? Mrs Haines guidance and wise words eventually help him take the right steps forward.

The movie and Jared’s character is very innocent and charming yet respectful at the same time. As a viewer you take instant liking for him. Even though the film comes out as amateurish, it has a old-fashion message at heart, ‘choose carefully between the lure of material goals and the joy of true love’. Jared’s growth as a character is shown really well, with the innocent young man opening his eyes to the ways of the world when Matthew tries to exploit Jared for his own set of issues with his partner. I thought that this was explored really well. But its not without share of issues. I am not really sure of the whole point of Jared making continuous recordings and spending all that money on cassettes. Performance wise, the film ably rests on Jared who does a splendid job with the right mixture of charm, innocence, and appeal. Mrs Haines’ stories and advices helps Jared to grow in the understanding of the world and how and why people take certain decisions in life. There were couple of sex scenes but nothing forced and done tastefully. I wish, there was a little more exploration done on Robert and Jared. To be honest, if not for the very amateurish production, I would have rated this film higher, but still, I think its a sweet tail of self-realization and sexual discovery.

Its not a great film by any chance, but given that it came in 2000, made on a limited shoe string budget, and relatively new cast and crew, its a sweet and watchable film from content and acting perspective. But from the perspective of an overall film, this leaves a lot to be desired. (6/10)