Steel

At over 90 minutes duration, it's too long. Lead actor actually does a very good job. But the music score and sound effects just kill it. The virtually non-stop piano trio music is unoriginally composed, trite, poorly performed, and played way too loud. Sound effects (think shrieking strings from Pyscho) to accompany Daniel's panic attacks are also over the top. Movie would have been so much better if they'd paid more attention to the sound track, gotten better musical performers and turned the volume down. Strangely, though it took 3 sittings, I did get through the whole thing and came away still liking it.

Obvious , the purpoise is to be a different film. The embroidery of succes, self isolation, anxiety, panic crisis ,depression, shadows of past, new life are well placed but the work with them seems more complicated than necesary. The story is very simple and it is fair to be so. The contrast between Chad Connell and David Cameron is just brilliant and, in essence, the axis of the film, against the not well coherence. But the fear to not convince to audience of director transforms all in a Baroque construction, in not the most inspired manner. So, a nice film , more than decent.

I found the film to be somewhat of a psychological mystery, quite good and not what I expected. I had not read any reviews/story line synopsis beforehand, but only had watched the trailer. So, I was not aware of a major aspect of the story line which played out at the end as an unusual, but intriguing twist for me.

The main character Daniel, played by Chad Connell, appeared to be a damaged individual with heavy childhood guilt. He is attractive, has a successful career, but is emotionally stunted. A few of the scenes, whether directed as so, appeared a little awkward, but overall I was impressed with much of Chad Connell's portrayal. One other aspect of the film was that I thought some of the music reminded me of a bygone era and didn't sit right with me. I just thought different music might have been better.

If you are not seeking an action-oriented film, but more of a character study with eye candy, then I would recommend this film as most gay- themed films have vapid characters and unimaginative plots.

I wasn't expecting to like this movie much so the fact that I love it speaks volume. The story pulled me in and even though the plot twist at the end which I won't reveal (spoiled in other reviews anway) isn't as well executed as one might hope, it still took me by surprise and felt satisfying.

The acting by lead actor Chad Connell as Daniel is by far the best aspect as he delivers a solid and restrained, subtle yet effective performance as a tormented gay man trying to come to grips with his reality. The worst aspect is David Cameron as Alexander who gives a jittery and nervous performance often sounding fake and not really convincing yet he doesn't hurt the movie as much as he could have because he has a fair chemistry with Daniel. Yet this makes me wonder how even better the movie could have been with a different actor.

The cinematography, the direction and the editing were all very good and I really liked that they succeed in showing us how Daniel perceives the world by using different technical tricks and just how conflicted the character is with the actor making the pain and confusion palpable. I first wanted to give this 7 stars but had to deduct 1 for the acting of Cameron yet Connell's performance elevates the movie so much that I added back 2 stars for a strong final rating of 8.

This is by no means a perfect movie nor will it entice everyone watching, some might find it too slow and convoluted and yes, there are some scenes that made me cringe (mostly because of the Alexander character) but overall I really enjoyed it. Somehow the story stayed with me which is always a good sign that a movie achieved what it set out to do, entertain yet touch us in a way that might make a difference. Very well done and I highly recommend it.

I have never watched a movie in my life with this much music throughout it. It was one long continuous score! It was overly dramatic as well. It would be appropriate at an orchestra event, but not for this film. The whole story could have been told in 30 minutes. There was so much dead air and unnecessary montages.

On a positive note, the set decorator and production designer did a good job.