An American Hate Crime

The Director, cast and crew was fantastic. The story is heart wrenching and real . It holds your attention and stays with you. The main character Jakes transition is well acted and directed . I really enjoyed it !

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.

This movie was well written and delivered an important message that isn't often discussed in todays society. hate crimes are still going on in our world and the more its talked about the more it can be prevented. this was a great movie filled with action, drama, and comedy despite the darkness behind the story.

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.

Extremely well crafted film delivering a powerful and both heartfelt yet heartbreaking message about equality and acceptance in the United States. I look forward to further films from this director.