Play the Devil

I saw the trailer on YouTube it looks good it educate the community ,I will be more happy if get the movie in full 🤗

Of course, the reason why I titled my review the way I did is because homosexuality is a massively big deal in Trinidad and, as far as the populace is concerned, punishable by death. For years, Trinidad has been playing a tug of war between the conservatives and progressives. Generally speaking, if you wish to progress outside island society, you have to leave for Europe, the US, Canada, and so on. That's where the characters of "Play the Devil" erred. Trinidad should never be confused with Fire Island, NY or Provincetown, MA where such behaviour is the norm. In any case, the movie was daring and intriguing simply because of the bold subject matter, and also because it gave viewers an in depth look of how the common folk live there. The film itself wasn't great - it was a little slow in parts, but the acting throughout was fine and the cinematography of the countryside and beaches are worth the price of admission. Recommended.

Here we have yet another one of these twisted independent movies where the director/writer insists upon getting the viewer to like the main characters and then ends the film with a sadistic tragedy that dashes all hopes. This movie doesn't fail in that regard. The young leading character comes from poverty but has a lot going for him. He's bright and motivated. He meets a kind, married gay man who wants to help him fulfill his potential and then the writer blows it all apart and shoves a tragic ending down the viewer's throat. Unless you are sadistic and love hopeless tragic endings, then you should avoid this movie. If you prefer to be uplifted, watch something from a screenwriter who wants to focus on the positive.

This film feels like it was written in the 1950s or before, when all gay relationships were tragic and ended in violence, with a mood full of judgment, control, and shaming for anything that threatened to transgress puritanical values. Unlike Black Orpheus however, which this film seems to aspire towards, Devil is so hackneyed and inept in the way it works itself towards its tired conclusion, the tragedy isn't transcendent, it lies in the writer/ director's slow moving exploration of every queer stereotype in every fear-based homophobic film. Seriously, the film is a class in tired film tropes that became obsolete 50+ years ago. You have the morning after shame, the self-hate, the fear of being outed, the queeny older gay preying upon the 'good boy,' the sugar daddy trope, the 'concerned and confused wife' cliche, the crying closet case cliche, the soft boy trope, the toxic masculine cliche, the violent judgment cliche, etc. All of this is lazy writing and painting by numbers, not storytelling that is fresh, unique, and revelatory. The moments that ARE authentic, those defined by the Trinidad setting, sadly get lost under all the rehashed leftovers. The bright moments in this film are the talented actors overcoming the writer/director's limitations. These include the young lead, his granny, his hothead brother, and his best friend. Most of the rest of the characters are so brutishly underwritten they feel like props or furniture. This is disturbingly true for the poorer residents of Trinidad. Yuck. Stars for the actors only.

I guess that the plot is known to the reader, in short young, pure, but gifted guy from the rural farming village in Trinidad, meet mid age wealthy businessman. The relationship that leads to seduction, tangled with many other problems in the pure guys life that seems quite OK, until the start of the movie.

Movie from Trinidad and Tobago must gain your sympathy at first, and of course you wouldn't expect a masterpiece. But, there are just to many but... The plot: Weak, predictable, with many detours from the main topic, and completely irrelevant jumps aside. Scenes are leaning one upon another, usually just to fill the time, many times completely pointless. Camera and directing are very basic, and few times I caught myself I felt uncomfortable watching unpleasant cadres. And finally - acting: below any reasonable expectation, on a very, very amateur level. Especially Gareth Jenkins, the man who is playing the wealthy businessman - just terrible.

So the score 2, just because of the sympathy for a young cinematography from Trinidad, and quite nice carnival scene.