Loggerheads

I caught this film at RiverRun Film Festival in NC. I enjoyed Kirkman's earlier film, "Dear Jesse," and I was amazed at how his filmaking had matured in such a short time. This is one gorgeous film, and it was well received at RiverRun. I love Kirkman's writing, and I was impressed with how he balanced the complexity of the three story lines. He could have dumbed down the script to spoon feed information to the audience, but instead he chose to use sound and dialogue to reveal the time line of the three story lines to the audience.

The cinematography was well done and showed the beauty of Asheville and the Carolina coastline. The performances by Kip Pardue, Bonnie Hunt, and Tess Harper were excellent. Most of the reviews I've read have emphasized Hunt, perhaps because of her name recognition and the fact that this is a first dramatic role for her, but Tess Harper's performance was equally riveting, and I hope she gets more attention for it.

I loved this movie. The cinematography, direction, and acting are fantastic. The NC shoot is exquisite (particularly the scenes at the beach). Using three different story lines that ultimately converge is a great way of drawing the viewer into the story and making it much more intimate and meaningful. There is a certain level of shock at how antiquated adoption laws and mores have been (and still are).

The ending is uplifting without being a "Hollywood" saccharin sellout. The bittersweetness of the closure is a wonderful way of reminding one that we can always do a better job of being human to each other - even when we don't understand each other.

I saw this film last night at the San Francisco Frameline Film Festival (6/20/05). This is a profound and moving filmgoing experience. I don't really want to say much about it but I encourage people to see it. One thing I particularly liked about it was the use of the Carolina locales. The film suggests that there's a whole world out there that Gay people have been deprived of. Yes, major cities like San Francisco and New York have been Gay turf for a long time. LOGGERHEADS dares to make the statement that we have to right to belong everywhere comfortably be it "the heartland" or the urban center. This film really is about "the heartland" -- a place where people have to grapple with their most personal issues and come out as better, stronger individuals. Between seeing LOGGERHEADS and Gregg Araki's MYSTERIOUS SKIN this week, I think the so-called "Gay Film" has really come of age.

Three stories start in this film-- 40ish Grace (Bonnie Hunt) is living with her mother (Michael Learned) but can't forget the baby she was forced to give up for adoption when she was 17; Mark (Kip Pardue) is a young man obsessed with saving loggerhead turtles--he falls for sweet, gentle George (Michael Kelly); a minister's wife (Tess Harper) misses her son who abandoned her because of her husband's (Chris Sarandon) religion.

These three stories are all absorbing with excellent acting--just look at that cast! They all slowly come together at the end and leads to a very moving and truthful conclusion.

This is a character study but a very good one. It was a little too quiet for me (that's why I'm only giving it a 9) but I was never bored. Also it was shot on location in North Carolina which helps a lot. There's some stunning, absolutely beautiful cinematography here (one sequence toward the end with Hunt and Harper took my breath away). This is not for everybody but it is quiet, intelligent, beautiful and very moving motion picture. Recommended.

First - let me say that I am not associated with the movie in any way and I paid $10.75 to see it. (I was reading the other comments and the only negative one I saw decided that all the other glowing comments were shills.)

I loved the way the stories intertwined. The acting was superb. Tess Harper and Bonnie Hunt were particular favorites for me. Like others have mentioned, I was very impressed by Ms. Hunt's dramatic work in this movie and hope she'll get to do more of it. The movie was quiet and thoughtful. Some might think it was slow, but I didn't feel that way. I was totally involved with the story and interested in the characters every step of the way.

A really wonderful film.