An American Hate Crime

While I admire the powerful subject manner that is being tackled in this film, it's done completely wrong. It's amateurishly bad on all levels! The acting is terrible and the story is pretty weak. While I know this kinda of thing happens all the time it comes off unbelievable. This movie borders on ridiculous. There's better movies that tackle hate crimes. Do yourself a favor and Watch those. Avoid this and the fake family, friends and cast member reviews. This movie sucks!

I had mixed feelings watching this at first. As it began, I thought the acting was weak while the story moved slowly, and in what I thought was the wrong direction. Then it all changed. This isn't a glossed over big budget Hollywood movie. The actors realistically portrayed their characters drawing you in, and the story needed to be told. I cheered for Noah, then cringed when I realized where this was going, then...well no spoilers. I watched it again to ensure I fully connected with the strong message. We need more like this.

As a gay man watching this - and let's overlook the poor acting - it's been dumped with every possible cliche in the dialogue and storyline. There's no argument from me that the message in this story is relevant and powerful however as a film, it falls short on too many levels which leaves it, in my very humble position, as a poor execution of a very real issue.

Having watched a lot of low-budget indie films with LGBTQ+ storylines over the years, I know better than to have unrealistically high expectations. Most such films have obvious shortcomings, but there are usually redeeming aspects as well. Unfortunately, this film's flaws are so glaring that it's pretty much beyond redemption. The topic is an important one and deserves more than the wildly melodramatic treatment it receives here. None of the characters is remotely believable; the protagonists are syrupy sweet paragons, the antagonists cartoonish villains. (To describe them as two-dimensional would be generous.) Though potentially intriguing in places, the story arc fails to overcome its many implausible aspects. The script reads like a cheesy 1970s after-school TV special, but one that a young middle-schooler might have written: there's no subtlety, no complexity of character, and the dialog is stilted, often preachy and almost entirely unconvincing. The acting is mostly amateurish and wooden. The best performances come from Dylan Hartman as Noah and Brian Cain as Parker. (Perhaps that's because melodramatic dialog seems less unconvincing when spoken by adolescent characters?) Daniel Byrne as Jake has some good moments as well, managing at least occasionally to overcome the encumbrances of the heavy-handed scriptwriting.

This movie really has it all, and I would go as far as to call it an emotional roller coaster. You feel anger toward the bad guys in the beginning, sadness toward the boys who get attacked, love for the mother and sister and joy toward the best friend. By the end you feel great for having seen and absorbed a powerful message in a poignant tale. Some of the technical work could be improved, or else I would have given it 10 stars. I highly recommend everyone see this movie.