|
|
Syd Stone (Travis Nelson) once was a top-shelf Hollywood actor due to
his lead in the Dino Danger trilogy of movies - but his star has
been on the decline ever since, and now he's reduced to "movie of the
week" type TV work. During one such shoots he meets young lawyer Matt
(Benjamin Charles Watson) at the hotel bar, and they have a few drinks.
The next day after work, they meet up again and Syd invites Matt up to his
room - something that eventually ends in sex. Seems like a straightforward
story so far - safe for the fact that Syd has not only never come out as
gay but also so far never identified as gay, so much so that he's in a
happy relationship with Rachel (Daiva Johnston). And what complicates the
matter even more is that Rachel comes for a surprise visit the following
morning, and Syd has a hard time keeping the two from meeting one another
- which of course ends in disaster, and not only does Rachel leave him,
Matt's through with him as well. But maybe that's the push Syd needed to
be truer, to not only others but also himself ... A drama about
pretty much a second "sexual awakening" that comes across as
quite as heartfelt because it keeps things subtle enough in both writing
and direction to make it feel real, a lack of spectacle makes things all
the more compelling. And in tandem with that, very grounded performances
make the characters, their conflicts and their arcs all the more
relatable, no matter how much you can actually identify with them. And
this combination simply makes for prime drama - beyond just another
"movie of the week".
|
|
|