Gerontophilia

There are precious few good gay films. It's just a fact. Usually the few good ones are foreign so this is disappointing because it was Canadian but that is almost American so there you go. Dialogue is stilted and script is formulaic. Actors try but plod along with material inferior that they attempt to embroider with a lifted brow here and there or a sad eye. The male star is pretty so he's a diversion but after the first swimming pool scene, you're ready to switch to reruns of 'Dark Shadows' TV show. Is it really believable that a very handsome young gay man would be smitten and erotically motivated by sagging flesh, wrinkles, fallen posteriors and pot bellies? I know it might exist (just like chubby chasers) but I find it difficult to swallow. It is very nice to fantasize about by someone like myself who am 65 and counting now and would like to justify still going to the gym, but...

This film was so much better than I expected! I saw this at the SF Gay Film Festival tonight. Just hearing the premise, I couldn't imagine it being very realistic but it turned out to be completely believable to me. The young actor was so sweet and his affection/attraction to the older man seemed quite sincere. I could see Mr. Peabody through his eyes and see the beauty and fascination he felt, particularly through the drawings he made and the huge poster of Gandhi on his bedroom wall.

I was impressed by the convincing portrait of teenage rebellion portrayed by the young girl who is inspired by female revolutionaries throughout history and by the young man's ridiculous jealousy and drug/alcohol use while at the same time showing the reality of the older man's life. Mr. Peabody was excellent in his portrayal of an older man who is at first resigned to life in the nursing home and then perks up when he realizes this young man is interested in him. He shows how lively he can be once he is encouraged to be his full self.

This film has changed the way I think of older men in nursing homes....

Bruce LaBruce's 'Gerontophilia' exists on one level as a bold and thoughtful exposé of the shocking treatment of geriatrics in some care homes, whereby they pass their days under heavy sedation so as to make them less of a problem to handle. Though well-scripted and acted, this theme is hardly novel, having been seen in many earlier films, including Henry Koster's delightful mixture of the tragic and comic in 'Mr Belvedere Rings The Bell'. What makes 'Gerontophilia' unique is its other level - an unusual account of the developing relationship between the octogenarian Mr Peabody (Walter Borden in a complex and completely convincing performance) and a youthful student, Lake, who decides to intervene and improve Peabody's quality of life. This decision is not, however, completely altruistic since Lake is one of that minority of young males who are turned on sexually by old men. It is to LaBruce's great credit that he treats this controversial subject with just the right amount of restraint, avoiding the lurid, but not being afraid to call a spade a spade. There are no actual lovemaking scenes in bed, but sufficient moments where Lake's attraction to old flesh is made manifest, at the film's ending through the medium of humour, earlier in a poignant scene where Lake sketches Peabody with, as one might say, no holds barred. The film of course has its flaws: Pier-Gabriel Lajoie as Lake is just too impossibly good-looking, though this is to some extent offset by the charisma of his performance and his unerring sense of fun. Also there's the suggestion, inferred rather than stated, that his curious sexual preferences stem from his relationship with his drunken mother, but this comes over as a trite rather than illuminating idea. These, however, are small matters. This movie is a charming and unpredictable insight into a sub-world which is not just French-Canadian but universal, and will be a welcome addition to the programmes of those art cinemas brave enough to show it.

Charming, sensitive, non-judgmental and comic portrayal of what is often seen as an awkward subject. Watching this and I wonder why. It's great to see this level of filmmaking from Bruce LaBruce and look forward to more from him, however charming his gay zombies and anarchists are! As already mentioned this is like a modern day Harold & Maude, which can only be a good comparison.

"Gerontophilia" was a very difficult film for me to watch and I am sure it would be for most viewers. This isn't a criticism--just a statement about the sort of topics you'll see addressed in this odd film. It's very challenging and isn't the sort of movie I could strongly recommend nor is it something for kids, but it is worth seeing if you are a patient sort of person and don't mind being shocked.

This Canadian film is a creepy story about a young man who works with the elderly. Why is it creepy? Well, over time Lake finds that he's become sexually attracted towards some of the elderly men in his care...and this isn't really the creepy part. However, his interest soon goes far beyond a passing fancy. Lake begins to not only fantasize about them sexually but even peeks at a naked man while he's sleeping and he pleasures himself while doing so. Clearly, this is NOT just about sexual attraction but crosses over the border...a very uncomfortable one indeed. After all, even if his love interest were younger or a woman, such behavior would most likely get Lake arrested! Fortunately, the film doesn't dwell on this too long...but I am sure that many viewers will be turned off by this. It's a shame really, as the film seemed to have too many interesting ideas but all together it just made the film confusing. In other words, having a young guy fall in love with an elderly person (male or female) could have been very good in a film that isn't a comedy like Harold and Maude. After all, while a taboo, what is wrong with a May-December romance? Most films that broach the topic give us the message that the younger partner must be a woman, so it is nice for a young guy to fall in love with an elderly person in a movie. But the film goes far beyond just love...and that is what is troubling.

The bottom line is that while I did think the plot was overly complicated and muddled by Lake being what many would consider a sex offender at the nursing home, the film dares to be different. More importantly, however, the film has some excellent things going for it. The music is just terrific and really works well with the movie. The directing (aside from a bad edit where Lake inexplicably changes sides of the bed in the same scene without getting up) is also very sweet and deliberate. I'd really like to see more from the director and I wouldn't object to a gay or gerontological theme- -just not these AND a creepy guy who goes way beyond friendship or even love.