O Beautiful

I'm sorry, I must disagree with the other reviewer. I thought the short film was poignant and very realistic. It may not be the type of movie everyone would like or would want to view, for that matter, but I found it captivating. It basically follows two young boys. One, named Brad, having been left in a field naked and sexually abused by some homophobic jocks, and Andy, one of the attackers who had enough heart to come back to help the kid. I thought this movie (which is supposed to be loosely based on the Michael Sheppard Story) was fantastically acted. Parts left me breathless. If you want to know what I mean, go find this film and watch it. You will NOT be sorry.

Such a shame that very sad subject matter often produces good books and films: this is one such case. Beautifully shot - with partial split-screen imagery - the characters were portrayed to perfection.

A telling story indeed, of the inhumanities heaped on some, by others, because they dared to be different - in this case, being gay. Lovely film, and highly recommended. Sometimes gay themed films turn out maudlin to say the least, but when the issue is dealt with in a manner that shows exactly how painful and damaging such prejudices can be, you get a warm glow, knowing that there are people ready to expose such nastiness - in the form of this film - so that well-balanced folk can really see what some of us have to contend with!

I was moved by this film. I screened it at the Cleveland International Film Festival in March 2003. I loved the split-screen editing of the film. I loved being able to watch the actors react to each other as the other was speaking their lines. The film is so true. Haunting. Beautifully-acted. I hope to see the two leads, Jay Gillespie and David Rogers, move on to larger projects. Thank you for this experience.

Gay teenager Brad (Jay Gillespie) has been attacked and assaulted (not shown) and left battered and nude from the waist down in a cornfield. Straight Andy (David Clayton Rogers) comes by and tries to help him--but why?

Strong short beautifully acted by the two actors. I was surprised to see Gillespie nude from the waist down for the first 5 minutes or so but this was to make it clear that he WAS assaulted. A split screen technique is used throughout almost the entire short so we can see both characters and their reactions to what each other is saying. The dialogue is sometimes awkward but that's exactly how it WOULD be in real life. Both of the actors are great but Gillespie is incredible. He had the more difficult role but he pulls it off. His reactions are completely believable and heart-breaking. Strong and uncomfortable but just great. A must-see! It's part of the DVD "Boys Life 4".

I watched this in 2 parts on YouTube's queerflix and came right away to IMDb, excitedly hoping to learn more.

First, if you've watched numerous crappy commercial gay movies that people excuse for being low budget (or for a pandering full frontal), seeing this short film gives lie to the idea that low-budget is ever any excuse for crap or that an exposed willy is the ultimate measure of cinema.

Second, investing your thought and imagination into appreciating anything will return those gifts, just as political dogma and snide cynicism will return only that.

>>What some saw as a non-Grammy performance of O Beautiful, I heard as an attempt to block out the anxiety of awkward regret and shame. Or, like his speaking Spanish, it might just be Andy's way of trying to establish trust. Whatever, isn't it better to think than scoff?

>>What some misunderstood as pica, I felt as eating dirt to scrub a bad taste out of his mouth. Or maybe Jay was anticipating an earlier degradation to forfend what he feared was a return attack.

>>What some derided as an extra-legal transfer of property, I took for naive adolescent impulse aimed at making amends with abject sincerity.

>>What some saw as seduction I know as the suspension of responsibility afforded by playing at hypnosis. See also, "boy, was I drunk last night."

>>And what some don't get is that in thrall to a small cornfield town you can have sex every weekend for the last 2 years of high school and still not realize that you're gay and he's your boyfriend.

Whether you understood them or not, you've got to admit the director's choices stayed with you enough to make it worth a comment. I also found that the two affecting performances in this movie make it hard to forget. Being gay or experiencing gay bashing is not necessary to finding something worthwhile in this movie, anymore than being a straight MMA fighter is necessary to appreciating Warrior.

Definitely worth tracking down and experiencing for yourself.