The Stranger in Us

I had hoped this would be a nice movie. Instead we get timelines that jump all over the place, and a protagonist I couldn't care less about.

Nobody in this movie was worth caring about. Not his deranged abusive boyfriend, not the trick turning gigolo kid he befriends, or the roommate who's completely forgotten about 1/3 of the way through the movie.

Avoid this film, it's just too big a mess.

There are so many things in this movie that are unbelievable but that is besides the point! The relationship between Steven and Anthony is seriously disturbing however, I applaud the attempt to bring to light the fact that abuse in gay relationships exists. Even with this however, there are serious development flaws in these two characters and the acting leaves much to be desired. Anthony's Character is very timid and shy but some of his actions don't make sense considering he is painted from the beginning as being so introverted - like picking up random men. Steven's character is abusive but nothing about him is intimidating, threatening or even remotely scary - yes, he is a bitchy little queen but that doesn't make an audience believe that this guy could give his boyfriend a black eye or bash his head on a coffee table!

Gavin is the only saving grace in this film! This kid's character is believable and the actor plays the role well!

And the crazy time-line thing - only distracts the audience.

I am a HUGE movie fan and am watching new movies all the time. I like all kinds of movies. But I cannot remember a movie in recent years that left a bigger impact on me than "The Stranger in Us." I had the privilege of seeing it at a film festival in Colorado and was blown away. There is just something so real and gritty about it that I could not get it out of my head. I believe that no matter who you are, where you are from, or what your background is, everybody will find something about this movie that they can relate to. I feel like every single person out there can identify in some way with some aspect of this movie. The performances touched my heart, both from the movie's heroes and villains. The director seems to have a really fresh eye. I am truly hoping to see much more from this director and these actors in the future. Whether you seek out film festivals or search for it on DVD if/when it gets released, find a way to see this movie.

"Anthony" (Raphael Barker) has one of those slightly irritating on/off relationships with his rather selfish and thoughtless boyfriend "Stephen" (Scott Cox) that leads the former to find himself walking the streets one night and meeting the young "Gavin" (Adam Perez). This latter young man oozes a streetwise confidence that "Anthony" finds compelling after a while and the two start to bond a little. It's not a romance as such, it's a rather peculiar form of inter-dependency and for a while director Scott Boswell manages to keep the personalities interesting enough. Unfortunately, though, we quickly find ourself in a rather well trammelled gay story that plays a bit to a San Francisco's rather poisonous stereotype that couldn't make a decision if the city was, once again, on fire! Perez adds a bit of charm to his character, and is easy enough on the eye - but that gloss peters out as we discover that - well you'd have to watch and see, before a rather disappointingly flat conclusion to an over long 1¾ hours of melodrama filmed in a fashion that I found initially quite creative, but ultimately pointless. I suppose it's asking us to try and take stock of just how well we actually know ourselves, but with too much verbiage. Sorry, one to avoid I'm afraid.

After I watched this, I immediately wanted to watch it all over again. It's not something that happens every time I watch a movie of course...just the ones that I really enjoyed or spoke to me in some way. The Stranger in Us, was obviously, one of those films. It's a slightly dark film all around and definitely shows the harder side of being in a relationship (Anthony) and finding freedom and the chance to be yourself (Gavin).

One of the things that I kept thinking about The Stranger in Us is that Adam Perez, who played Gavin, is an amazing actor. I really enjoyed the character of Gavin...and he's definitely the "young adult" point of view as he's 17 through most of it. I just think Perez did an amazing job showing viewers the type of person that Gavin is and who he wishes he could be. He deals with a lot but he also has a very optimistic look on life. He does things that he shouldn't, but he also helps Anthony stay on the right side of life in other ways by not doing drugs, and not going back to Stephen. You look at the type of things Gavin does to survive on his own and you might think he has no respect for himself, but it's not as simple as that. You really get to see the various sides of his life.

The Stranger in Us is set up, editing wise, in an interesting fashion. It took me awhile to follow actually as it has three different times being mixed together. I suppose it's hard to explain, but it gets easier as the film goes on. You just have to keep watching, figure out what is happening and when, and you're good.

I'm not sure The Stranger in Us has a rating, but I suppose with everything included...I would say it's rated R as it can be a bit graphic in parts. You definitely should have a more mature audience viewing this.

I was sad when the ending came, but I also found it to be realistic. Not everything is the way you might wish it to be, and it's definitely not a "happily ever after" end, but again, it seems more real because of this. You can still see the silver lining so to speak. It definitely left me curious about the characters' futures though and I think that's a sign of a pretty good film.