Drift

This little scenario scripted by Quentin Lee plays like a merry-go-round. As lovers love, break up, reunite, have misgivings, rekindle, and entertain more regrets, the viewer begins to wonder just what point Lee is trying to make.

A key may be the tentative nature of the title. It's also set in a town where lots of folk are in a state of flux, not really settling down after making a commitment, and forever looking for the "perfect" partner.

The search, however, is as fickle as the atmosphere of the terrain itself, where the consciousness can be a jumble of mixed emotions. Unanchored attitudes prevail, reacting to the mass of humanity crowded into the region, from mid-state down to the southern border.

It's not an ideal place for anyone who isn't strongly grounded in both their self worth and professional projects. The tragedy of this story is that there are no solid anchors, only driftwood floating and bobbing along uneven tides. One day wanting this, tomorrow that.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lee's script rather meanders as well, and allows itself to even take a "Memento"-type turn midway through--with unprepared for flashbacks that have a strange feel.

There's nothing wrong with the acting, though, and the youthful cast renders subtle and heartfelt performances.

Just rented the DVD with friends and found it to be a thoughtful, insightful, delightful, and touching film.

Sometimes trite or cliche, perhaps, but Ryan (R. T. Lee) could very well be the current "gay everyman" - happy, but not happy; settled, but unsettled; content, but incontent. (OK, the whole "death is romantic" sub-theme was just a little creepy, but its' purpose was to help you realize that it really *was* hard for Joel to understand Ryan, and that possibly only Leo could; I still would have gone with something a little less "visceral," to use the movie's favorite - and overused - adjective.) And the "what if" scenario of three different possibilities was a great way to flesh out what we all wish we could do - see the reaction to our actions and figure out if it's what we really want or not.

Some wonderful acting in this film - Lee is certainly comfortable in his role (although sometimes I felt the dialogue was a little rushed); Greyson Dayne as his boyfriend, Joel, also had some great scenes (particularly when Leo tries to bed him); Jonathan Roessler seemed a natural as the geeky Leo, and had a very natural flow of dialogue; and big kudos to Kudos to T. Jerram Young as Dane for the *great* pick-up scene in the bar - we all laughed out loud!

I think the reason this film will stay with me is because I did see a lot of myself in Ryan - searching to be understood, leaving a relationship because of it, not really knowing what will make him happy (until, perhaps - at least in one ending - it's too late). I plan on buying the DVD and adding it to my movie library.

The dialog is fresh, original, and on a much higher level than most commercial and indie films. Sure, the cinematography is pretty lame, especially on extreme facial close-ups. But the story surprises--Ryan has many illusions and many alternative stories that he lives, and we're not quite certain what's real. This Canadian import survives because of its superior screenplay, as well as some good acting performances. I gave it an 8/10.

What starts out as a fairly straightforward tale of the end of a relationship gets, for no apparent reason, complicated about an hour in by repeated scenes from earlier in the film with twists and variations. First minor changes in wording, then wholesale changes in content, scene construction and even characters. I was reminded of the home video release of "Clue," which separated the three theatrical endings with a title card saying something like "That's one way it could have gone, but what about this?" Except the alternate endings and scenes for "Clue" were entertaining and these changes weren't. The twists and turns were attempts to enliven an otherwise pedestrian faux-"quirky" script (oooh, obsessing about serial killers, how avant-garde!) but it didn't work. Proving that gay indie filmmakers can screw up relationship stories just as badly as straight ones. If you like surreal twists, leave this one on the shelf and rent "The Hanging Garden" instead.

While yet a young man still gaining experience through his own relationships, Quentin Lee has managed to produce a drama that explores the many subtleties and conflicting possibilities of relationships with the insight of someone twice his age. As an older gay male in a long-term committed relationship, I particularly appreciated Lee's mature take on the interplay between every young gay man's deep desire for a "perfect" relationship and the (maturer) realization that (perhaps) perfection lies in working on one's existing relationship. Yet--another sign of the film's maturity--this conclusion is not dictated, but merely suggested as one of several possible outcomes. As others have noted, the film is slow at first to engage the viewer, but once it does it will leave a lasting impression.