Never or Now

On his final day, Alan Driscoll, obviously a long repressed gay man going through the final stages of ALS or something similar, is pleasured, in his hospital bed, by a male prostitute possibly hired by his soon to be widow. 'Never or Now' is a beautifully acted, poignant 18 minute short. It's focused on the soon to be deceased man and the young guy who's there to sexually, and spiritually, provide pleasure while helping the sick man to realize his fantasy of having a meaningful connection with a man. The wife leaves money before temporarily leaving her husband to run errands. The young man shows up, disrobes, and jumps into the hospital bed with Mr. Driscoll. He compassionately lays with him, guiding the sick man's hand all over his young body, fully cognizant of what's happening. When he leaves, he doesn't take the money most likely left there for him. He performs an amazing act of kindness to a stranger with very little time left.

Kudos to Smith Crowe's performance as the young man, and Greg Phelan, the writer. An act of kindness takes little effort but could mean the world to its recipient.

Annie (Marsha Musial) attends to her dying husband, Alan, at the hospital. He may be old, but he hasn't lost his good looks.

Photos around the room tell us he's led a fulfilling life. Annie's jewelry tells us they are wealthy. Annie lovingly delivers a quick report on the whereabouts of their various children and grandchildren, noting that some of them are on their way. This is clearly the end. Never or Now is superbly directed by Branden Blinn, who delivers a solid short film with a wonderful, consistent, very engaging pace.

Greg Phalen authored the sensitive, full of subtext, script.

After this thoughtful, well-executed exposition, Annie needs to run some errands but assures Alan she'll be back by 5. Before she leaves, she pulls a few hundred dollars from his wallet, leaving the bills on the nightstand. After she leaves, Alan retrieves a piece of paper, then picks up the phone.

Just before 4pm, enter Smith Crowe, a young, handsome male prostitute. He confirms that the man lying in the bed is Alan Driscoll, his client, who has clearly arranged for something he may have had on his bucket list, but never got around to actually doing.

"I get it. Big fan. First time caller," says Crowe as Alan nods in affirmation.

What follows is a very well-done, sensitive moment between these two men. Allen Weiss (The Next Big Thing, as Alan Driscoll, is in constant pain. His entire performance is mostly facial expressions, sighs, nods and looks of sorrow, disappointment, and how much he is going to miss his grandchildren.

But it's more than that. He's going to miss the life that might have been. Weiss is truly extraordinary a role with less than ten lines. He communicates lots of pain, but a fleeting moment of joy. Though he's accepted his fate and the way his life turned out, he is not bitter. He's just sad.

We see Crowe leave, just as Annie returns. Has she arranged this meeting?