Drift

_Drift_ is an independent movie about a Canadian Asian guy living in L.A. who decides to break up with his boyfriend of 3 years to find his "soul mate." The movie shows 3 possible paths his life could take. I found the first 30 minutes to be reminiscent of film school productions I've seen, with unoriginal dialogue and earnest but amateur performances. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because the writing and the acting got much better during the 3 different variations of the protagonist's destiny. In the end, the movie rises above its gimmick.

Just rented the DVD with friends and found it to be a thoughtful, insightful, delightful, and touching film.

Sometimes trite or cliche, perhaps, but Ryan (R. T. Lee) could very well be the current "gay everyman" - happy, but not happy; settled, but unsettled; content, but incontent. (OK, the whole "death is romantic" sub-theme was just a little creepy, but its' purpose was to help you realize that it really *was* hard for Joel to understand Ryan, and that possibly only Leo could; I still would have gone with something a little less "visceral," to use the movie's favorite - and overused - adjective.) And the "what if" scenario of three different possibilities was a great way to flesh out what we all wish we could do - see the reaction to our actions and figure out if it's what we really want or not.

Some wonderful acting in this film - Lee is certainly comfortable in his role (although sometimes I felt the dialogue was a little rushed); Greyson Dayne as his boyfriend, Joel, also had some great scenes (particularly when Leo tries to bed him); Jonathan Roessler seemed a natural as the geeky Leo, and had a very natural flow of dialogue; and big kudos to Kudos to T. Jerram Young as Dane for the *great* pick-up scene in the bar - we all laughed out loud!

I think the reason this film will stay with me is because I did see a lot of myself in Ryan - searching to be understood, leaving a relationship because of it, not really knowing what will make him happy (until, perhaps - at least in one ending - it's too late). I plan on buying the DVD and adding it to my movie library.

I liked a lot about the movie. It's earnest and well-intentioned. The execution is a bit uneven, and as others have said, some dialog does not ring true.

I was startled when, well into the movie, scenes seemed to repeat. For a moment I wondered if the DVD was stuck. I had no clue previously that I was about to see alternative versions of the storyline. I'm not sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Generally, I like to be surprised, but this sudden shift was a little confusing. Again, not entirely a bad thing. I've never read the Dogma manifesto (and this is shot Dogma-style) so I don't know if this movie follows those rules to the letter. However, I think my surprise stemmed from not expecting to see alternate realities depicted realistically (Dogma-ish), if that makes sense.

Overall I think it's worth seeing, if for no other reason than, well, how many gay Dogma movies are there? I think if you approach it as something impressionistic rather than realistic, you'll be more likely to enjoy it.

Not good. Not the worst thing I've ever seen, either. It's just a dull, amateurish effort, where the writer thought that the most realistic the dialogue, the better. (Not true. Try leaving a tape recorder on for a couple of hours when you're having a heart-to-heart with a friend. Just don't make me listen to the result.) Drift has a couple of fresh points--first, it deals with the pain of breakup, and avoids the horrible cliché of "coming out" stories or overly sunny romantic discovery. It's very realistic, and prefers understatement to emotional shouting.

But that latter point is also its downfall. It is dull. The gambit of three possible endings cannot save it. The main character is a self-pitying neurotic, and as time went on, I lost all interest in him. Save your money.

Maybe it's because I don't appreciate the joy that drama queens bring to life. Maybe it's because I don't appreciate the angst of living in the life today. Who in the real, work-a-day world speaks like this? If I met such an emotional train-wreck as the lead character, I would sprint at high speed in the other direction. It seemed every time Ryan opened his mouth out spilled a Greek tragedy punctuated by his belabored, self absorbed, oh-woe-is-me breathing. The acting was good, the story line was mediocre. I found myself looking at my watch and checking the box the video came in to see how much longer the pain was to continue. I would have been the guy in the back row of the theater groaning every time one of these poor widdle boys dug himself into a hole and then waxed poetic.

I have this visceral feeling of...oh sorry, it's just indigestion.