La peau dure

Except for the bad acting of the boyfriend Jeremy Neal. The story had good potential

LEATHER is somewhat of a departure for Patrick McGuinn, in that it feels less transgressive and overtly sexual and delves more into the dynamics of broken families and emotional pain. The story involves a successful, ambitious gay man (Andrew) from NYC who drives to a country house where his estranged father has just passed away, and there reunites with a childhood friend (Birch) who has been his father's caregiver. The two find that they can't seem to rekindle a friendship, but they do find anundeniable attraction to each other. Complicating things is a young, immature gay man (Kyle, the main protagonist's bf) who is still trying to figure out who he is and why he relies so much on his BF for his own sense of self. The three find themselves confronting issues that they have repressed and evaded for too long. Here they're thrown into the forced contemplation of rural life, best exemplified by the above-mentioned local, a leatherworker. Local denizens round out the cast and add color and interesting subplots to the story. The script by Greg Chandler is very thoughtful and multi-layered, and the cinematography (16mm) makes the most of the beautiful setting of Upstate NY. A refreshing film about gay life that is rarely treated on screen. Highly recommended!

I found this film very enjoyable and with a different take from most other in this general vein. Some rather strange characters in it but really wonderful, and I easily rated this film 8 stars.

It is, I suppose, one of those that you will hate or love. Slow in spots, but I was engaged and moved in many places. This film deserves to be more well known....I liked it enough to buy myself a copy for my home film library.

Why does every "gay" movie seem so much the same? Gay life is enormously varied but you'd never know that from the movies about gay life, most of which rehash the same clichés of father-son angst and trite rites of"coming out." "Leather," whose title might lead viewers to think it's something it's not, is yet another film in that long, tiresome line. I suspect the filmmakers' hearts were in the right place. There are moments when you suspect something heartfelt and meaningful is going to happen in this rural tale of a New York City boy who falls in love with a boyhood friend who's morphed into an idealized woodsman - but the writing and acting and are so amateurish and the production work so slipshod the emotions of the film never gain traction.

It is a good film, in some measure like a good old dog, remembering its old master.

Few cliches. But a story having the gift of fair simplicity and inspired light on familiar situations. Touching and seductive for gentle reflection of emotions . Two men, the return at home of one of them, the young boyfriend of him and the rabbit as pet, the shadows of past and vulnerability of each character, and traits of rivalry and the present reflected in its decisions. And, sure, Glenda Lauten and her acting as useful spice for story taste.

Few scenes , grace of image, are just little gems . Some dialogues are nice kicks to reflection.

In short, a good movie ,nice for the inspired emotions and for simple, precise message, a decent story and few admirable scenes. And, sure, the leather sandals, real cool inclusive for their significance.

Portrait of a clash of two worlds, with same root, proposing a sketch of ideal life, dreamed by many from us, it is just a beautiful film, in pure and simple sense.