Those People

I saw this film at the Frameline LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco on Saturday night. Great performances, heartbreaking story & very intense love triangle. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. Charlie (the handsome, Jonathan Gordon) is a budding artist who is hung up on his self-centered BFF, Sebastian (Jason Ralph). The feeling is not mutual. Sebastian's life is turned upside down after a scandal puts his father in jail. When Charlie meets a hot Lebanese concert pianist, older & more grounded than Sebastian there developing relationship starts to interfere with Charlie & Sebastian's long time friendship. The cast is outstanding but Jonathan Gordon is the star & is just about in every scene except when Sebastian meets his father in jail. It's a heartbreaking moment. Joey Kuhn's directorial debut is very impressive. Well done. Highly recommended.

Pacing is a little slow, but there are many tender and emotional moments that more than make up for it.

As many fans of Queer cinema would know, the good ones are few and far between. Be it the reluctance of big studios to produce purely LGBTI content resulting in next-to-no- budget features in the Queer cinema genre or not, often the movies for us gay folk are pretty terrible - poor production standards, bad acting and cliché upon cliché upon cliché. Lately though, there has been some shining lights in this small genre. 'Henry Gamble's Birthday Party' is one and so is 'Those People'. Production standards here are very high, beautiful wide screen photography, particularly in low light night scenes; lush and appropriate music choices; and above average acting among a number of other merits. I stumbled across this gem on Apple TV and was immediately taken in by the seductive and moody trailer; and I wasn't disappointed - far from it. Some viewers might not like the lack of backstory here, as we are dropped into the lives of a clutch of arty and (mostly) wealthy young New Yorkers but slowly details are revealed, enough to really feel one among these characters at this pivotal time in their lives. There's plenty of tension and angst, and mercifully a lack of the usual queer cinema clichés. Questions (and loves) are left unanswered. I really don't won't to say too much about the story as it could spoil your immersion into the delicate world created here. Looking forward to seeing what this director and his leads show us next. Search this one out.

Have read other reviews that suggest this film is about unreturned romantic love between two long term gay friends. I disagree. It's about two long term gay friends who have become hopelessly devoted to one another. I am 58 and have a similar type friend for 30 years. There is no sex or romance, but we've been hopelessly devoted to one another for decades. The writer pokes fun at gay men who always think it's pointless to have other gay friends if you can't have casual sex with them. This was made clear in the bedroom scene where Sebastian's trick wants a three way. The attempted suicide scene clearly shows how devoted Charlie is to Sebastian regardless of their circumstances. Their embrace in this scene was the highlight of the entire movie and the whole story in a nutshell.

THOSE PEOPLE drops the viewer into the middle of a melodrama involving several friends trying to find their place in the modern New York landscape. The film follows Charlie (in a revelatory performance by Jonathan Gordon) who has been pining away after his best friend Sebastian (equally good Jason Ralph) for well over a decade. He's in love with Sebastian, yet has never pursued a relationship beyond the superficial.

Enter the pianist Tim (well played by Haaz Sleiman), who shows an interest in Charlie. To anyone who has been emotionally trapped by unrequited love, this scenario will seem familiar. Tim wants a relationship with Charlie, but Sebastian's presence in Charlie's life acts as a perpetual block to maturity. Sebastian is a narcissist, but he is dealing with abandonment issues and relies on Charlie to ground him.

Most of this is played out over three months, a plot device which gives some of the characters' decisions a forced and artificial weight. Had more time been given to flesh out these characters, this might have been a truly great film. These characters are all pretty well-off and seem detached from the struggles of life in a big city. Sebastian's father is dubbed "the most hated man in New York" due to his embezzling money from charities. Sebastian himself bears the brunt of the public's scorn, unable to show his face in public without being hounded by the press.

What separates THOSE PEOPLE from some of the more pedantic queer cinema of late is how these characters interact. They all care for each other, and the not-terribly-innovative admission of this story is we often stay in damaging relationships out of fear. Gordon's performance beautifully captures this hesitancy to mature and move on, even when he knows better. I've never seen Gordon before, but he gives an eye-opening performance here.

Ralph and Sleiman are also quite good. Ralph has the unenviable task of making Sebastian into someone the viewer believes Charlie would stay with. The chemistry between Ralph and Gordon is palpable, and it's a large reason the film works as well as it does. Sleiman, always a sight for sore eyes, gives Tim a maturity with a hint of past trauma that makes him quick to react.

While it isn't a great film, it is a very good one, with surehanded directing from first timer Joey Kuhn (he's a better director than writer, judging from this movie alone). The cinematography is lush and warm, drawing viewers into this inviting story with ease. Nothing here is particularly surprising, and the writing suffers from its predictable story arc, but minor complaints of an otherwise lovely little film.