Skip to main content

Together Alone

By Golu
This is one of those 2 actor film set in an apartment that could as well have been a play. This 1992 film and script solely relies on the dialogue heavy screenplay ad whether the two actors can really pull off the whole film on their own. Two young men Bryan and Brian meet at a bar, flirt and end up going to one of them's house for the night. Bryan gets on Brian's case for having given him a phony name earlier, thus setting off what amounts to an 87-minute, nonstop dialogue.

Brian is an open, if not practicing, gay man, while Bryan is a married bisexual who needs the security and respectability of married life while venturing out for the occasional tryst. The whiny Brian has to deal with their engaging in unsafe sex, and the weight of the possible consequences provokes a conversation with the usual issues of commitment and the nature of relationships. Their conversation is marked by its candor and exploratory precision as the topics range from poetry, dream analysis, philosophy and lost opportunities to AIDS, bisexuality, abortion and the politics of sexual position. They are alike yet dissimilar. They non-stop talk about why Bryan did not wear a condom and who does the responsibility lie with. Eventually, the film comes into its own as their defenses break down, and both talk about a hurtful relationship during their years in college-Bryan's with his freshman roommate, Brian's with a woman he got pregnant. There are hugs and tears, and each man tosses out a surprise revelation about his life. Once the conversations end, as expected, the man leaves the house in the morning. Together they were both alone.

One nightstand movies are not easy to make, and ever since I saw Weekend, I have realized that there hav been many more similar films, but they are not easy to execute and hold on to your audience's reactions. The two men are not bad at actors and do what they are asked of, they have good chemistry and are easy on the eyes, but somehow the situation as a whole doesn't do much. The film was probably made on a shoe-string budget and it shows. The topics discussed are relevant right from AIDS, how sex was free-er, the whole discussion on why one of them just didn't wear a condom, their past stories and all that. You feel good hearing all that for first 40 minutes , but then it just goes on and on and you just can't wait for it to end. Although there are merits to the topics that these two men discuss, the whole piece still seems more like a clever exercise than a real-life situation, and there's an artificiality to it all. Few years back, when it came out, I am sure it would have started many conversations around the subject; but as of today, it reduces to being more of a strictly average fair. (4/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

By Golu
Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin...
5 comments
Read more

Sei no Gekiyaku (Japanese) [Dangerous Drugs of Sex]

By Golu
Every person has their own unique way of dealing with loss. This film is as much a psychological thriller as it is a soft porn BDSM portrayal of two young men that makes the film overall horrifying as well as humane. It is really hard to describe the genre of this film in one word. Its important not that the film has some really disturbing scenes so if you go into seeing this film, please proceed with caution. Although any sexual non-consensual activity is not ok, this film has its won strange way of showing that suicide is not the only solution to all life's problems. Makoto is a regular office goer, who just finds out that his girlfriend is probably cheating on him. ON top of it, his parents sudden death coming back from a trip that he forced them to take, he gets completely dejected and decides to commit suicide. Unknown to him, he is saved by mysterious man Yoda Ryoji, and he wakes up finding himself tied up in leather and belts in a very BDSM setting. This mysterious saver soo...
3 comments
Read more

One Summer Night (Korean)

By Golu
I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more