What's Happening in Atlanta Film

Moving ‘Tomboy’ explores youth, gender

1/19/2012 10:33:06 PM

From the first shot of its ten-year-old protagonist, “Tomboy” is a study in gender identity and expectations.

Young Zoé Héran grounds the film with an amazing performance as the lead character, who moves to a new neighborhood and self-identifies to the local kids as Mikael, “the new boy in the building.”

But at home, Mikael is Laure, and writer-director Céline Sciamma (“Water Lilies”) includes a full-frontal shot of the female-bodied child emerging from the bathtub to show us the conflict between the character’s two identities.

Laure has an overworked father (Mathieu Demy), a very pregnant mother (Sophie Cattani) and a tres femme six-year-old sister, Jeanne (Malonn Lévana), with whom she’s very close. In many ways their new home represents a new beginning and we learn next to nothing about their old life.

The first friend “Mikael” makes is Lisa (Jeanne Disson), a girl who’s in the same grade but looks a bit older. Mikael could become Lisa’s first crush, which of course would complicate things. So could the dick he fashions from clay to pad his bathing suit.

The story takes place toward the end of summer, meaning the deception can’t go on indefinitely. If the truth doesn’t come out before school starts, schools have a way of defining students by their gender. There are surprises, both sweet and bitter, as things play out.

After screening last October at Out on Film, “Tomboy” returns to Atlanta Jan. 20 for one week at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas.

‘Tomboy’
Opens Jan. 20
Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas
931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308

Glenn Close portrays woman who lives as man in ‘Albert Nobbs’

1/19/2012 1:00:00 PM

Back in the 1980s, actress Glenn Close portrayed the character of Albert Nobbs in a celebrated stage play — and the part stayed with her so long, she vowed to one day bring it to the big screen. It took 30 years but “Albert Nobbs” is finally opening in theaters next week, with Close reprising her role.

In the film, Albert Nobbs is a waiter at a notable hotel circa 19th century Dublin. A fixture there for 17 years, Albert is exceptionally good and devoted to the job. Yet Albert has a secret: Underneath the waiter attire Albert is really a woman.

When she meets mysterious painter Hubert (Janet McTeer) and strikes a bond, Albert realizes — perhaps for the first time in her life — she is not alone in the world.

Producers Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn admit “Albert Nobbs” was a difficult project to get off the ground, taking several years. For Curtis, who worked with Steven Spielberg for 15 years as his assistant, “Albert Nobbs” was the most difficult project of her life to jump-start.

“None are easy,” she says. “Glenn has said that her definition of an independent film is one that almost didn’t get made.”

Close was so excited about the project she helped adapt the screenplay and also served as a producer.

The original play was based on a novella, which Lynn says was a bit “avant garde,” so the trick was to make the film more cinematic and “show more.”

In the film, no one has any idea Nobbs is a woman, and the idea of being free and who she is has never been a possibility for the character. As a lesbian, Curtis completely related to the story.

“Julie and I talked and realized that this character would mean different things to different people,” she says. “My way in is that I struggled myself before coming out. I deeply related to that hiding. This is so much here about the loss of identity and looking to find yourself and who you like and respect.”

“Nobbs doesn’t know who she is. She was abused as a youth and wonders if she is gay or straight; she is in search. She wonders ‘What am I?’ A lot of people refer to Albert as she. Our hope is that Albert Nobbs is a universal character. That scene on the beach [where Albert leaves the buttoned-down confines of her workplace temporarily] — the character is just Albert,” Curtis says.

According to Lynn, who is straight, “Albert Nobbs” is a meditation on loneliness.

“Nobbs has been so lonely, so focused on the work,” she says. “Her eyes are downcast. Hubert lifts her spirits; she begins to see the world and see that she need not be lonely. Everyone at some point has that kind of experience.”

‘Something is resonating’

Curtis, who co-chaired the Respect Awards for GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) for the past four years, describes reaction to the film as strong from gay and straight audiences alike.

“Based on the screenings we’ve had, something is resonating quite seriously — that feeling of isolation, hiding, locking your door,” she says. “A lot of those things, we relate to.”

The idea of cross-dressing was common during the time and still happens, says Lynn.

“One of the things that [director Rodrigo Garcia] said is that we don’t need to fool the audience,” she says. “We need people to believe it in the context of the film. Many people, even today, all over the world dress as men not to be abused, to fight in wars, and for economic reasons.”

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and had a one-week Oscar qualifying run last year before opening around the country next week. It garnered three Golden Globe nominations, though no wins when the awards were presented Jan. 15: Close was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, McTeer was nominate for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and “Lay Your Head Down,” for which Close wrote the lyrics, was nominated for Best Original Song.

When Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 24, Close is expected to be a Best Actress nominee and McTeer is a possibility as Best Supporting Actress. Curtis and Lynn are obviously hopeful both are cited.

“I don’t know another actor who could do what Glenn has done,” Curtis says. “When she first played the character she said it pushed buttons for everyone — men and women, gay and straight, young and old — and that was something she had never experienced. She really wanted to play this again.”

Lynn concurs.

“It takes someone very intuitive and intelligent like Glenn to submerge yourself into Nobbs, who has had her development arrested at a young age,” she says.

As for McTeer, Lynn says she is “at times the window into the movie, in such a centered, funny demeanor.”

Top photo: Glenn Close portrays the title character in ‘Albert Nobbs,’ a woman who lives as a man for a career as a waiter in 19th century Dublin. (Publicity photo)

African-American teen coming out tale brings often-overlooked story to Atlanta big screen

1/5/2012 1:00:00 PM

The new film “Pariah” treads where few Hollywood features dare to go — detailing the coming out process of a young African-American lesbian.

“Pariah” stars Adepero Oduye as Alike, a poetry-loving 17-year-old living at home in Brooklyn with her parents, Audrey (Kim Wayans) and Arthur (Chris Parnell). Alike begins to realize she is a lesbian. Her best friend Laura (Pernell Walker) is already out and Alike starts to wonder what it would be like to have a girlfriend.
Director Dee Rees, producer Nekisa Cooper and actresses Oduye and Wayans were in Atlanta late last year to promote the film.

“Pariah” is based on a short film director Rees made in 2007, which in turn was influenced by a similar-themed feature.

“I needed a short to graduate from NYU,” says Rees. “As the short got attention at festivals, I was invited to the Sundance Institute to develop it into a film. It’s had an interesting evolution. We all think that the length of time it took to make this has made it a better film than had we been able to shoot it right away.”

That first film had a slightly different scope, she feels.

“We have more understanding of the characters now,” Rees says. “Audrey and Arthur got more well-rounded.”

When the current film was finished, Rees submitted it back to Sundance for their annual film festival and got in — as the opening night feature.

“It was exciting and scary all at once, waiting to get in, and then realizing we were in competition and on opening night,” she says. “The cast was there for the first time. It was a big vote of confidence for us.”

“Pariah” eventually won the Cinematography Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Rees calls the film semi-autobiographical.

“Alike’s struggle is similar to mine,” she says. “She knows who she is. She understands that she loves women; for her it’s more a question of who she is going to become.”

Oduye, who was also in the short film, agrees.

“Alike is a teenage girl trying to figure out who she wants to be,” she explains.

Audrey turns out to be the parent who has the most difficulty accepting the situation.

“She is very lonely, and is having a difficult time with her marriage,” says Wayans. “She is trying to determine how she can avert this disaster from happening, in her mind.

“That was the challenge, to bring this woman and her humanity to life,” Wayans continues. “I saw her as a woman who was in pain herself, a mother trying to save her marriage. She is a victim as much as everyone else, a victim of how she was raised. She believes she is getting the best thing for her daughter, stopping her from being a lesbian.”

‘Someone like me’

Having grown up with few role models, Rees is happy that “Pariah” touches on areas rarely covered in film.

“When I was growing up, I only had a few points of reference,” she says. “I had literary influences such as Alice Walker and Audre Lorde and Toni Morrison I read that were kind of feminists, and there was the kissing scene in ‘The Color Purple’ and the two women in ‘The Women of Brewster Place.’ I didn’t see a lot more.

“As I grew older and came out, I discovered others,” Rees says. “I guess I will say that the stories that are being made are reflections of the filmmakers who are making them.

“In this film, I wanted to see myself, someone like me. As the people behind the camera become more diverse, I think the stories will become more diverse.”

Cooper, who attended Clark Atlanta University, has been working with Rees since the short film and was joined by her family here for a local screening of the film. She was afraid to show them the film at first but is now glad she did.

“What we found is that people were finding themselves in the short and now the film,” says Cooper. “What we saw were audiences with people seeing themselves, making relevant connections to their own life. It made them think of things in a different way.”

A man at Sundance approached them after the screening and said that while he didn’t like gay movies, he liked theirs, says Cooper.

Both Rees and Cooper admit it was not easy raising money for the production.

“It was not easy getting the money to make the film,” says Rees. “Black, gay, coming of age are the wrong words; these are not the words that speak box office success. But people said we shouldn’t make the short and we shouldn’t make the feature and I shouldn’t write something so close (to me).

“People are now saying it’s not going to be an awards contender, that people aren’t going to see it, and we are going to prove them wrong again,” she says. “It will hopefully open doors for others.”

Top photo: ‘Pariah’ stars Adepero Oduye as Alike, a 17-year-old girl coming out as a lesbian. Kim Wayans (pictured) plays her mother in the ground-breaking film directed by Dee Rees. (courtesy Focus Features)

Moody ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ features bisexual title character

12/22/2011 1:00:00 PM

The decision to remake “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” for American audiences will be debated endlessly and passionately, but if anyone is to bring the story of Lisbeth Salander to life in the multiplexes, mercifully it’s David Fincher. His take on the material is moody and unhurried, marked by a star-making performance by Rooney Mara as the ass-kicking, bisexual girl in question.

Stieg Larsson’s densely-plotted “Millennium series” spawned a trilogy of films, starring actress Noomi Rapace as the titular character. This version covers the same material from the first Swedish film, with tweaks here and there.

Here, Daniel Craig is Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who has just left the magazine he works for after he is sued for libel for an article he has written. Shortly after, he is hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the head of a large, powerful Swedish family, to find out what happened to his young niece Harriet 40 years ago. She disappeared – almost literally – from their home and he believes her murderer could have been in the family.

As he begins to investigate the case, Mikael learns that he himself has been researched before taking the assignment by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a surveillance agent/hacker able to find almost anything she needs. If there’s dirt on someone, Lisbeth can unearth it.

With a photographic memory to boot, she is ideal to help Mikael with the case.  Warmth, though, is not her specialty – nor is socializing. After a very troubled life as a teenager, she has a legal guardian who looks after and controls her, but she is not happy with that situation.

At first the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth is purely professional, almost uneasy, but they begin sleeping together. It’s not a seduction – Lisbeth basically stands before her colleague, undresses and goes after what she wants/needs.

Some are apt to criticize Fincher for taking on this project, since the original film is widely acknowledged as being true to the nature of the books. What makes him an ideal choice is that he is not afraid to take chances and go down corridors some filmmakers wouldn’t. He doesn’t rush the material – nor does he tone down the film’s darker moments. The rape scene, for instance, between Lisbeth and her guardian is graphic but vital to the story. It’s hard to watch, as is her revenge.

The Vanger family is played by some awfully formidable actors – including Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, and Joely Richardson — and Robin Wright portrays Mikael’s wife/editor, a role not fleshed out in the original film.

For his part, Craig gives Mikael just the right blend of remorse and inquisitive nature; he’s a man out to redeem himself and find the truth. But the actor generously realizes this is his co-star’s movie.

Fincher apparently had to fight hard to get Mara in the film in favor of more prominent names. His decision was a wise one. The actress, who appeared in the director’s “The Social Network,” is new to audiences, which is part of her appeal. It’s hard to take your eyes off of her.

If Rapace’s Lisbeth was more well-rounded and vulnerable underneath, Mara is a hard shell - rambunctious, uncouth, used to getting what she wants and sometimes having to go to extremes to do so. It’s not a sound idea to cross her.

Her bisexuality is never in question. Lisbeth picks up a girl in a bar and has a one nighter with her just before she joins Mikael on the case.  Her guardian, too, seems to be aware that she digs women.  (As with the original films, Lisbeth’s sexuality is expected to be examined further as the trilogy goes further).

After the whodunit is solved, “Dragon Tattoo” goes on for about 20 minutes more. It feels anti-climactic and overloaded, even if Fincher’s ending is different from the original film. Yet it’s still a tremendously well-done feature for those willing to take the unsettling ride. The Swedish version may be a touch better, but both can proudly stand on their own.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is now playing in area theaters.

Top photo: Rooney Mara stars as Lisbeth in ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.’ (Publicity photo)

Film: ‘Weekend’ goes beyond the one-night stand

11/24/2011 1:00:00 PM

As a card-carrying romantic, I’ve sometimes made the mistake of trying to extend a lovely one-night stand into something more than it was meant to be. Perhaps the embarrassment I’ve felt when these situations didn’t work out made me sensitive to sophomore filmmaker Andrew Haigh (“Greek Pete”) doing the same thing to his characters in “Weekend,” which opens Nov. 25 for a one-week engagement at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

Love in the movies happens on a grand scale in major studio films and more intimately in independent films. But love always happens, or what’s the point?

That’s the point of “Weekend,” which is definitely small and independent. But is it about love? You may not know, even when it’s over, but you’ll want it to be.

Set in Nottingham, “Weekend” begins with Russell (Tom Cullen) in the tub, getting ready to go to dinner with a group of his best friends, all of whom are straight.

Russell heads to a gay bar, where he cruises Glen (Chris New) but almost winds up with another man they jokingly call “the Hobbit.” We don’t know what happens until Glen wakes up in Russell’s bed the next morning, whips out his — wait for it! — tape recorder, and asks Russell to recount the events of the night before for an “art project.”

Russell goes off to his job as a lifeguard at a public pool but gets together with Glen again afterward. This time Glen reveals that he’s leaving the next day for at least two years in Oregon. Since there’s no indication of a deep bond forming between them, that sounds like a win-win. The sex is good so they can spend one more night together, then part without a great sense of loss.

But booze and drugs bring their conversations to new levels of intimacy, which is where “Weekend” begins to get interesting after far too much prologue. They share stories of past sexual adventures and reveal themselves to be as far apart philosophically as Republicans and Democrats.

Glen is an extrovert and an activist. Hurt by a previous relationship, he’s not looking for another one and doesn’t think anyone else should be either. Russell is an introvert who’s not into public displays of affection but wants someone to be with in private. He’s a romantic who would fall in love with a bee if it stung him. There’s no reason for these guys to even think of being together for more than a weekend, except that they’re in a movie.

Being more of a Russell than a Glen myself, I wanted to love “Weekend,” but the spark wasn’t there for me because I couldn’t believe it was there for the protagonists.

That’s no reflection on the actors, who do fine work at an amazing level of intimacy that must have been incredibly awkward. Maybe I’ve been ruined by Hollywood movies where people start out as antagonists and gradually become attracted to each other.

In this case the attraction comes first, then the antagonism, and we’re supposed to believe love grows out of that. Even if you aren’t sure you buy it, “Weekend” should be a good date movie, perhaps even a litmus test for a couple’s potential.

Top photo: Tom Cullen as ‘Russell’ and Chris New as ‘Glen’ in ‘Weekend,’ directed by Andrew Haigh. (by Quinnford & Scout)

A queer comedian celebrates release of DVD recorded live in her adopted hometown

11/24/2011 1:00:00 PM

Part-time Atlantan and full time entertainer Margaret Cho has certainly made her mark on our city. Not only does she film a television series here (she plays Teri Lee on Lifetime’s “Drop Dead Diva”), but she also hones her stand up skills on a regular basis at the Laughing Skull Lounge.

When she recorded her new Showtime special and DVD, “Cho Dependent,” which was released on DVD on Nov. 21, she made certain it was in front of an Atlanta audience because she feels so strongly about her adopted hometown. We recently spoke with Cho, who just got back from a European tour, about the new DVD, her status as a queer and her love for Atlanta.

Shannon: What have you been up to?

Cho: I have been in Europe for forever!

Were you able to keep up with these Republican debates while you were there?

Yeah. Europe has a sense of what’s going on here. American politics really affect their economy. It was on and I watched some of it but not as much as I normally would if I were home. I did get caught up in European politics like that stuff with Berlusconi (Italian leader).

Your new DVD, “Cho Dependent,” has just been released. It was recorded here in Atlanta at the Tabernacle.

I wanted to film in Atlanta because I do live there most of the time. If anything, I live in Atlanta more than I live in Los Angeles. I have a place there and am there from February to August and have been there for the past three years.

I wanted to see my friends and hang out in the middle of my tour. A lot of the material was written there. I do a lot of stand up at the Laughing Skull Lounge and worked out the material there. It was a homecoming show for me.

The DVD is a mixture of comedy and music.

They’re jokey songs but also quite beautiful. I learned how to play guitar and sing and conduct a choir, which is part of the DVD.

Yes! The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus made an appearance on the song “Your Dick.”

It was a powerful experience.

It’s cool that you combined music and stand up onto one DVD.

Yeah. It’s a different way to do music and a different way to do stand up. I feel like it’s very innovative. It was very joyous for me to go into this world of music that I spend a lot of time around anyway. This was an appropriate direction for me to go in.

You have a way of saying things that other people would never be able to get away with and not only that, people laugh about. What is it about you that doesn’t seem to piss people off?

I have a lot of compassion, especially when it comes to race or sexuality or gender or any of these things that I am. I am an Asian-American. I’m only talking about my heritage in the way that I understand it. My mom’s voice really is like that. I’m not making fun of a type of immigrant personality. That’s what I really come from. I’m gay. My family and my life is in the gay community. I live with and love these people. It’s about creating entertainment that formerly excluded our voices. It’s about inclusion.

You’re touring with stand up now and will be in Atlanta in December. What after that?

I am writing more stand up — working on writing a show. I’ll go back to work on “Drop Dead Diva” in late February and I’m on this mission to write as much as I can. When I come back in February, I’ll probably be back a lot at the Laughing Skull through August. I just want to be as good as I can with my stand up.

The Atlanta lesbians probably want to know if you are seeing anyone now.

I have been married for years. I have an open relationship with my husband because I’m definitely queer and bisexual and I’m also attracted to transgendered people. I was seeing a woman in Europe but that was not good. I’m a little bit upset about it but I’m doing okay.

Parting words?

I’m really excited that I have this DVD out. It represents me in the big A which is a place that I love and that I call home. I am so OTP right now and I cannot wait to get back to my city!

Top photo: Actor, comedian and musician Margaret Cho filmed ‘Cho Dependent,’ released on Nov. 21, at Atlanta’s Tabernacle Theater. (Photo by Lindsey Byrnes)

Film: ‘Weekend’ goes beyond the one-night stand

11/24/2011 1:00:00 PM

As a card-carrying romantic, I’ve sometimes made the mistake of trying to extend a lovely one-night stand into something more than it was meant to be. Perhaps the embarrassment I’ve felt when these situations didn’t work out made me sensitive to sophomore filmmaker Andrew Haigh (“Greek Pete”) doing the same thing to his characters in “Weekend,” which opens Nov. 25 for a one-week engagement at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

Love in the movies happens on a grand scale in major studio films and more intimately in independent films. But love always happens, or what’s the point?

That’s the point of “Weekend,” which is definitely small and independent. But is it about love? You may not know, even when it’s over, but you’ll want it to be.

Set in Nottingham, “Weekend” begins with Russell (Tom Cullen) in the tub, getting ready to go to dinner with a group of his best friends, all of whom are straight.

Russell heads to a gay bar, where he cruises Glen (Chris New) but almost winds up with another man they jokingly call “the Hobbit.” We don’t know what happens until Glen wakes up in Russell’s bed the next morning, whips out his — wait for it! — tape recorder, and asks Russell to recount the events of the night before for an “art project.”

Russell goes off to his job as a lifeguard at a public pool but gets together with Glen again afterward. This time Glen reveals that he’s leaving the next day for at least two years in Oregon. Since there’s no indication of a deep bond forming between them, that sounds like a win-win. The sex is good so they can spend one more night together, then part without a great sense of loss.

But booze and drugs bring their conversations to new levels of intimacy, which is where “Weekend” begins to get interesting after far too much prologue. They share stories of past sexual adventures and reveal themselves to be as far apart philosophically as Republicans and Democrats.

Glen is an extrovert and an activist. Hurt by a previous relationship, he’s not looking for another one and doesn’t think anyone else should be either. Russell is an introvert who’s not into public displays of affection but wants someone to be with in private. He’s a romantic who would fall in love with a bee if it stung him. There’s no reason for these guys to even think of being together for more than a weekend, except that they’re in a movie.

Being more of a Russell than a Glen myself, I wanted to love “Weekend,” but the spark wasn’t there for me because I couldn’t believe it was there for the protagonists.

That’s no reflection on the actors, who do fine work at an amazing level of intimacy that must have been incredibly awkward. Maybe I’ve been ruined by Hollywood movies where people start out as antagonists and gradually become attracted to each other.

In this case the attraction comes first, then the antagonism, and we’re supposed to believe love grows out of that. Even if you aren’t sure you buy it, “Weekend” should be a good date movie, perhaps even a litmus test for a couple’s potential.

Top photo: Tom Cullen as ‘Russell’ and Chris New as ‘Glen’ in ‘Weekend,’ directed by Andrew Haigh. (by Quinnford & Scout)

Let’s ‘Toast’ a gay chef’s coming of age

10/27/2011 4:00:00 PM

What happens to a mama’s boy when his mama dies? That’s the basic dilemma in the coming-of-age dramedy “Toast,” based on the childhood memoir of Britain’s beloved television chef Nigel Slater.

The film opens Friday, Oct. 28, for a one-week run at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

It’s obvious that the boy is gay from the outset, when nine-year-old Nigel (Oscar Kennedy) watches Josh (Matthew McNulty), the hunky gardener (and Nigel’s first crush), undress. It’s always there in the background but it’s not the point of the movie.

True, Nigel doesn’t get along with his dad (Ken Stott).

“I think he thinks there’s something wrong with me,” he confides to a friend.

But his father, “not a sweet man,” would find some reason to pick on him no matter what. Nigel blames the man’s disposition on a “lack of nutrients” because his mum (Victoria Hamilton) is “averse to fresh produce.”

Indeed, we’re led to believe it’s Mum’s lack of cooking skills that leads Nigel to develop his own. The film’s title comes from the family’s default meal when Mum burns everything else — even food in unopened cans!

Mum’s not perfect but Nigel loves her. She also has lung problems that take her life before the movie’s too far along. As a fair trade for everyone but Nigel, her place in the kitchen (and eventually Dad’s bed) is assumed by Mrs. Joan Potter (Helena Bonham Carter), a cleaning woman who knows how to remove stains and make a lemon meringue pie, among other things.

Soon Joan and Nigel are competing for Dad’s affection by cooking for him, and Joan cheats. Years pass (roughly 1967-74, going by Slater’s biography) and the war continues. Nigel (now Freddie Highmore) is still quietly gay, whether he or anyone else, except maybe the girl in class who calls him a “pouf,” knows it. He’s the only boy who signs up for home economics lessons, because he wants to take his cooking to the next level.

Things are so unpleasant at home that Nigel takes a Saturday job at a restaurant to get out of the house. That’s where he meets a slightly older man who teaches him a positive lesson about being himself in a lovely scene.

With things being so unpleasant at home it’s not clear why Nigel’s father doesn’t send him to boarding school to relieve the tension. It’s disconcerting, though a refreshing change from the norm, that our hero is far from perfect. His conflict with Joan is as much his fault as hers.

The excellent period recreation is reinforced by songs by bisexual songstress Dusty Springfield.

Now that Kate Winslet has done Joan Crawford in “Mildred Pierce” and Helena Bonham Carter gets more like Bette Davis with every cigarette-puffing role like this one, can another remake of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” be far off?

Top photo: In ‘Toast,’ based on the childhood memoir of gay chef Nigel Slater, a boy learns to cook to compete for his father’s affection. (Publicity photo)

LGBT movies abound at local theaters this month

10/13/2011 4:00:00 PM

Out on Film is over but LGBT films abound in theaters this month. This week “Love Crime” opens at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas and “We Were Here” at the Plaza. Next week sees the openings of “Gun Hill Road,” “Dirty Girl” and “3,” and Oct. 28 brings “Toast.”

“Love Crime” opens with Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) being flirtatious with her assistant, Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier, awesome!), giving her wine and gifts. Neither woman is exclusively lesbian because both sleep with men — the same man (Patrick Mille as Philippe) in one instance, though not at the same time. Isabelle even asks Philippe what Christine’s like in bed.

Things turn deadly, but you’re better off not knowing what to expect. Just let the story unfold deliciously, because you’re in the capable hands of the late Alain Corneau, channeling Alfred Hitchcock.

The director admitted he didn’t know if the women have a physical relationship, but Christine is obviously using sex to manipulate Isabelle. Whether they — or you —are lesbian or not, it would be a crime to miss this one.

Shown recently at Out on Film, “We Were Here” is David Weissman’s documentary about the early years of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. Weissman and I were there in the ‘80s, as were the five eyewitnesses who relate the story of the plague years from their unique points of view.

Whether you view it as nostalgia or ancient history, you should see this personalized lesson in modern queer history, the story of an epidemic that brought us together as a community. Weissman lays it all out, calmly and professionally, and lets you take it as you will. You can hardly be unmoved.

“Dirty Girl” is about a straight girl (Juno Temple) and her gay best friend (Jeremy Dozier) on a road trip, similar to 2001‘s “Gypsy 83.”

“3,” the latest from German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run”), finds a 20-year relationship shaken up when the man and woman both get involved with the same man.

Writer-director Rashaad Ernesto Green makes a promising debut with “Gun Hill Road,” an uneven but affecting drama. An east coast variation on last year’s “La Mission,” it gives homophobes and homophiles alike someone to cheer for. Latinos disappointed by their children’s sexual orientation will relate to Enrique, Esai Morales’ character, to some extent, but God help their kids if they see him as a hero.

While Benjamin Bratt just had a gay son to deal with in “La Mission,” Enrique gets out of prison, discovers his son Michael is becoming his daughter Vanessa, and goes predictably ballistic. Transgender actress Harmony Santana hits the right emotional notes in addition to pulling off the more obvious aspects of the role.

Good moments alternate with those that are excessively melodramatic in “Gun Hill Road.” The question is how much harm Enrique can do before his temper, attitude and criminal tendencies put him back where he can’t hurt his family.

Top photo: In ‘Gun Hill Road,’ which opens Oct. 21 in Atlanta, Enrique (Esai Morales, right) gets out of prison and discovers his son Michael is becoming his daughter Vanessa (Harmony Santana, left). (Publicity photo)

Exhibit highlights 25 years of international AIDS advocacy posters

9/29/2011 4:00:00 PM

In the three decades that AIDS has wreaked havoc on gay and straight communities around the globe, activists and governments alike have turned to posters as a tool for education about prevention, treatment and the need for compassion.

‘Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDS Posters,’ a new exhibit which opens Oct. 1 and runs through the end of the year at the Museum of Design Atlanta, makes a powerful statement about the disease and different approaches to curbing it.

“Because these posters come from every continent, what is most striking about them is the variety. Some are provocative and some are not,” says Laura Flusche, MODA associate director.

“They address a wide range of themes, including HIV / AIDS transmission and how to prevent it; care and access to treatment; the stigma related to the people it infects; sexual norms and discrimination; racial and gender politics; hope and compassion,” she says. “And, in their design, the posters cover a wide arc of artistic styles and languages.”

The more than 150 posters that make up the exhibit range from gentle to graphic to haunting to humorous. Condoms and red ribbons are common.

A 1995 poster from India uses a sweet drawing with the caption, “People suffering from AIDS need love. Not disgust, not abandonment, but just love.”

Two 2002 posters from Switzerland use a close-up of the opening of a shell to symbolize a vagina and an ear of corn to represent an erect penis, both with the simple message “Stop AIDS.”

A Canadian poster from 2004 shows a tombstone complete with carved statue of two men engaging in veiled anal sex and the epigraph “AIDS is still circulating.”

“The posters are a way of remembering those who have died due to AIDS — a graphic quilt of a different kind,” collector James Lapides wrote in an essay posted at GraphicIntervention.org.

It is fitting, then, that MODA combines “Graphic Intervention” with an exhibit of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The 40,000-panel quilt has its national headquarters in Atlanta; different blocks will be shown each month at MODA.

“The panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt serve as a reminder of the painful reality of AIDS, but they also provide catharsis and comfort,” Flusche says.

“Like the posters they are examples of design-related creative efforts that are a direct response to the AIDS crisis,” she adds.

“Graphic Intervention” is curated by Elizabeth Resnick and Javier Cortes, and drawn from the collections of the James Lapides International Poster Gallery and the Massachusetts College of Art & Design.

“The most common theme is prevention and the major device for prevention of transmission depicted is the condom — and display of the condom requires explicit illustrations of male sexuality,” Flusche says. “What is interesting is that the seriousness of the AIDS pandemic has allowed for the depiction of the nude body and sexual acts, sometimes even in countries where they are totally unacceptable.”

The posters are both public service messages and works of art, she notes.

“Posters, by their nature, require a bold visual language,” Flusche says. “Those that are successful grab our attention enough for us to interact with the message that they impart — in other words, their aesthetic informs us, educates us, and sometimes amuses us.”

Top photo: ‘Graphic Intervention’ features 153 HIV posters from around the world, like this 2004 poster from Canada. (Courtesy photo)