Peridot

Not sure if you call a 63 minute film a short feature or a long short form, but I stumbled upon this when I wasn't in the mood for anything longer nor a series. I was pleasantly surprised about how much of it I appreciated, but nothing more so than the lead actor, director and writer, Shayne Pax, who could not have been any older when he made this than his early 20's at the most. This tale of young street hustlers reminds me a bit of the very early Sean Baker films. Pax is a promising actor, but I think he may have more potential as a director and writer, which are both well done and interesting here, though the writing is hardly flawless. The correlation between co-star's Harry Haines' character's life here and his own in reality ending up so similar is a bit eerie, but it does add some additional authenticity to this. Pax's character is a young prostitute for either sex, but it's clear he has little regard or respect for men, a kind of homophobic stance I didn't find pleasant, while with women, especially older women, he treats well and much differently and develops a touching relationship with one, played well and with dignity by Susan Moore Harmon which ends up being the primary storyline here and some of it is fairly predictable. It's sort of a mixed bag, but Pax is interesting as is this little movie from someone to pay attention to.

Peridot is about a young street hustler in Los Angeles who develops a platonic relationship with a successful, middle-aged female writer. It isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but the lavish praise in gushing, maximum-star online reviews cannot have come from unbiased viewers. They're all about the same length and all sound like they were written by the same person.

Everything about this movie is mediocre, and since Shayne Pax wrote, directed, produced and starred in it, he gets the credit for its mediocrity.

The story is contrived and unbelievable, the direction and cinematography are awkward, and Pax's acting--pretty much limited to soulful looks--is boring. I got really tired of looking at his big soulful blue eyes, which seemed to get freakishly bigger as the movie progressed. The other actors are a little better than he is, but they get much less screen time, and they're not enough better to lift its rating above two stars.

Clocking in at a scant 63 minutes, PERIDOT is one of those rare films one wishes was longer. Written, directed, produced, and anchored by Shayne Pax, PERIDOT is a story about chosen family and the need for unconditional love and belonging as told through the story of a young street hustler named Gabriel. In its exploration of difficult themes, it manages to offer some quality moments. Unfortunately, these moments go largely undeveloped, a situation that could have been remedied with a longer runtime.

The film's brevity only allows for a stroll through the subject of prostitution. While PERIDOT doesn't glamorize sex work per se, it often fails to capture the essence of the human wreckage inherent in the pursuit. This despite its depiction of the drug-related death of one hustler played by actor Harry Haines, in a final performance before his own death from a fentanyl overdose.

PERIDOT tries to capture the grit of its subject matter, but Pax's approach and performance relies too heavily on the 'hooker with a heart of gold' cliché -- a narrative shortcut that dulls the film's otherwise gritty intentions. That might work in a romantic comedy, but it doesn't work particularly well here. If the goal was realism, it would have been better for the overall effort if PERIDOT played more like MYSTERIOUS SKIN and less like PRETTY WOMAN.

Perhaps a little more method might have helped with the central performance. Pax never overcomes his boy-next-door good looks and, as such, Gabriel never looks hard enough, strung-out enough, unwashed enough, or hungry enough to be fully convincing as a street denizen. Instead, he looks more like a high-end rent boy, and his stealing money from johns and books from stores doesn't compensate for this failure to visualize the realities of street life that can be seen clearly on a drive through any city's tenderloin.

Where PERIDOT succeeds is in the unique and original plot involving Gabriel's accidental relationship with Martha (Susan Moore Harmon), a successful author facing extraordinary difficulties of her own. It's in the scenes between Gabriel and Martha that the film gets truly interesting, and also where it leaves the audience wanting. This relationship is where the real story is, it's supposed to be central, yet there simply isn't enough of it.

The most exciting thing about PERIDOT is Pax's vision as an emerging filmmaker. When viewed in the context of his age and experience, it becomes a vastly more interesting work, and one looks forward to seeing what he could do with more experience and a full complement of resources.

PERIDOT may be slight, but its emotional ambitions suggest a filmmaker worth watching.

"Peridot" popped up on my screen and it caught my eye. With its 63 minute running time, I thought to myself, why not. I was tired of series and longer than necessary movies. To my surprise, "Peridot" turned out to be a little gem. The movie about a street hustler who befriends a middle age matronly author, has been done before. Gabriel, is a pretty boy who lives on the streets and is predominantly a male hustler but he is approached at a bus stop by a matronly woman, who happens to be a renowned author and they strike up a platonic relationship. Gabriel, played by Shayne Pax is the star, writer, producer, musical coordinator and director of the film. The fact that this young man was able to pull this off is an amazing accomplishment. The movie is cliche, lacks much character development or background of the characters, but the central theme of loneliness and belonging shine through. Keep an eye on Shayne Pax to do bigger and better films in the future!