Flight of the Cardinal

Flight of the Cardinal is character-driven mystery/thriller with Hitchcockian undertones. Set in the North Carolina mountains, it features Ross Beschler as Grady Wilson, the manager of a small bed and breakfast, and David Bonner as Beetle Hobbs, a local with devilish intentions. The plot unfolds to discover a tattered love story, a shamed personal history and a psychopathic villain.

Although screened at many LGBT festivals, the film does not have an overbearingly gay theme. I applaud director Robert Gaston for making a film featuring gay characters without feeling the need to exploit stereotypes or differences. Grady's sexuality was a small part of who he was, and that was evident as the plot unfolded, but he was not defined by his intimate relationship. Instead, Beschler portrayed Grady as a man of determination, strength and perseverance, even as he was losing himself to neurosis and mental torment.

In his first featured role, David Bonner provides a strong and fearless performance as Beetle Hobbs. The devious character is contradictory to Bonner's boyish looks, but his charm and style provide an instant uneasiness that is felt from the first scene.

The film is not without its faults. The scoring stands out only because it clashes with major plot points. The storyline is somewhat rushed. The cuts sometimes feel jumpy, but they smooth out after the first 20 minutes or so.

Overall, the film cast and crew should be commended for putting together such a quality film on a very low budget and a tight timeframe. The actors, many appearing for the first time on film, gave the audience a wonderfully enjoyable and thrilling ride.

"Flight of the Cardinal" was one of the best movies I have seen in the film festival circuit in awhile complete with all the pickings of a great, suspenseful plot wrapped up nicely with an important message. Robert Gaston creates a thrilling, suspenseful world that had me gripping for more by the time it reached its third act. There is something for everyone in this film: suspense, drama, and even some comedy. People in my theater were gasping and laughing throughout the film, which, to me, speaks to the breadth of talent showcased by the actors in the film, especially in regards to David J Bonner. It also features some great shots of the beautiful North Carolina scenery that personally made me want to go see the area for myself. It was also refreshing to see some new actors in a gay film, regardless of what their sexuality may actually be, which brings up another great point about this film.

Despite not being completely concerned with the sexuality of the main character (Grady), I think that this is a film that gay film festival circuit goers (including myself) found refreshing; it's rare to see a film in that circuit these days with the strong potential of going mainstream. I believe that those involved with this film deserve some applause for taking the risk of doing this and succeeding at it wildly.

Another really pleasing thing about the film is its great use of dramatic irony - something that we really don't see much of these days. Despite the fact that we, the audience, are greatly aware of Beetle's (played by Bonner) foul intentions, we are forced to watch Grady (played by Beschler) and the rest of his friends at the lodge continue to place themselves in harm's way as they are led down a dangerous path due to Beetle's powerful charisma. All of this is creatively played out throughout the first two acts until we reach the high-pitched climax at the end of an exciting story.

I highly recommend watching this film if you have the opportunity to! I'm personally looking forward to seeing it again at an upcoming festival and hope to see it available to purchase soon! I also can't wait to see more from the writer and the entire cast!!!!

Bravo!!

Robert Gaston's latest film is one of the best movies I have seen on the festival circuit for quite some time. An amazing character study and very tense thriller where everyone has an agenda and none of them are good.

A stand out cast led by David J. Bonner and Ross Beschler immediately draw you into an an intriguing story full of mistrust, backstabbing, and perhaps even murder.

The protagonist, Beetle, drives the story and the hero, Grady, into a space I have never seen on film but have witnessed in real life. Everyone I know has a "Beetle".

See this film.

This was one of the films at the 2010 NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival that I looked forward to seeing--a LGBT mystery-thriller set in the NC mountains sounded like it had plenty to offer--but was disappointed with the results.

First, neither I nor the friends I saw this with can figure out why this was considered a LGBT film. The main character is gay, but aside from that there's nothing really else to set this movie aside from the mainstream.

Second, there was a decent story somewhere under all the poor acting and odd dialog. There were people in the audience laughing at what I can only conjecture was the sheer ridiculousness of some of the scenes. And the characters themselves... most were so flat it bordered on hilarity, while Beetle was so unctuous that it was simply over-the-top.

Lastly, having been to the beautiful North Carolina mountains, it seemed like none of the cinematography took advantage of the scenery. That's a shame, because it could have added a lot more to this film.

I have to agree with other posters, this movie was not worth the price of admission.

I was recently viewed this film at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in North Carolina, and I am still scratching my head why this movie was even screened for the GLBTQ festival. The main character, Grady, and his ex-partner, Andy, are the only gay characters of the story. The plot does not revolve around issues important to homosexuals. In addition, there is an unnecessary frontal nude scene of Beetle that makes lesbians rejoice for their life choices and gays question their sexuality. This movie was shot in the mountains of North Carolina, which sounds as if it would have great cinematic views, but, again, this movie disappoints. Rarely are scene shot outside the log cabin, and when outdoor shots were filmed, they were taken from the dash of a moving vehicle that induced vertigo. Not to harangue this movie further, but I feel it is critical to talk about the plot. In concept, this plot has great potential, but sadly wan't fully realized during production. I feel that the actors tried their best to make the film palatable, but the dialog is odd. The best evidence for this is when audience members laughed at the film when the director is clearly trying to be have a serious moment. Beetle is clearly a manipulator of the gathering of friends that have collected in Grady's lodge. The actor did an OK job, but the audience is left wondering why Beetle has chosen these people and what he ultimately plans to gain from these events. I have to wonder if even the actor that played Beetle knew. I am extremely confused from people exclaiming the brilliance of this movie. Perhaps these are relatives of the director or persons that stand to gain money from the success of this movie. When I saw the first review that gave 9 out of 10 stars, I felt the review was misplaced for some other movie. Simply put, this movie should not be viewed by anyone who does not wish to waste several hours of your day.