Those People

I think the ending saves this movie, because it gets lost a bit in the middle (maybe it's the fact that I do not like Tim). Reminds me a little of Kings and Planets. Although the protagonist is not bad, I think Jason Ralph carries the movie.

Charlie and Sebastian are old friends. Sebastian is emotionally damaged. Charlie seems to have a life and is committed to his friendship with Sebastian.

Sebastian has stalled emotionally while Charlie has continued to grow up. Charlie meets a new love interest and this causes a fracture in his friendship with Sebastian. Sebastian is very very needy of Charlie's friendship and Charlie does not want to hurt Sebastian by following through on his new found love relationship by having to totally leave Sebastian.

The fact that each character is gay is not made into a factor with this story. It's just fact. The story is all about friendship, commitment, and the love of two friends - not two lovers. One friend is weak and confused, the other is strong and wants to get on with life but his conscience and friendship with poor Sebastian is a stumbling point with Charlie.

The characters are wealthy and spoiled. Sebastian's needy personality will get on your nerves but the plot works and you begin to care about Charlie as he is a nice person who is dealing with issues that have a direct impact on his life and future.

Ahhhh the wonders of love, betrayal and everything in between. I believe this movie captures all that, maybe superficially at times, but it's there. Obviously the subject matter is similar to that of other movies as originality is hard to find. I mean lets face it, what hasn't been written and/or sung already?!

This movie touches on a subject that most of us experience and that's love. How love hurts, pining for someone that you've known for sometime but your love/admiration for that person isn't reciprocal, so you think. The characters in the movie to me were very believable. This movie was about those bonds that you form with your clique and how love adapts and how acceptance of its adaptation plays out. It didn't need to be this over the top gay extravaganza like other movies. The actors were very good and I'm glad that they didn't throw in all the unnecessary extras (i.e. the bigger than life drag queen, the club scene where most have their shirts off dancing to club music, etc). I believe the script was well written and stayed on focus. Definitely very touching, soft and dark at the same time. It's a movie that no matter what your sexual orientation is, you can relate to.

As many fans of Queer cinema would know, the good ones are few and far between. Be it the reluctance of big studios to produce purely LGBTI content resulting in next-to-no- budget features in the Queer cinema genre or not, often the movies for us gay folk are pretty terrible - poor production standards, bad acting and cliché upon cliché upon cliché. Lately though, there has been some shining lights in this small genre. 'Henry Gamble's Birthday Party' is one and so is 'Those People'. Production standards here are very high, beautiful wide screen photography, particularly in low light night scenes; lush and appropriate music choices; and above average acting among a number of other merits. I stumbled across this gem on Apple TV and was immediately taken in by the seductive and moody trailer; and I wasn't disappointed - far from it. Some viewers might not like the lack of backstory here, as we are dropped into the lives of a clutch of arty and (mostly) wealthy young New Yorkers but slowly details are revealed, enough to really feel one among these characters at this pivotal time in their lives. There's plenty of tension and angst, and mercifully a lack of the usual queer cinema clichés. Questions (and loves) are left unanswered. I really don't won't to say too much about the story as it could spoil your immersion into the delicate world created here. Looking forward to seeing what this director and his leads show us next. Search this one out.

Have read other reviews that suggest this film is about unreturned romantic love between two long term gay friends. I disagree. It's about two long term gay friends who have become hopelessly devoted to one another. I am 58 and have a similar type friend for 30 years. There is no sex or romance, but we've been hopelessly devoted to one another for decades. The writer pokes fun at gay men who always think it's pointless to have other gay friends if you can't have casual sex with them. This was made clear in the bedroom scene where Sebastian's trick wants a three way. The attempted suicide scene clearly shows how devoted Charlie is to Sebastian regardless of their circumstances. Their embrace in this scene was the highlight of the entire movie and the whole story in a nutshell.