Review
Featured image: Brian Peters as Sister Alysa Trailer. Photograph: Courtesy of Dual Power Productions.
USA – Dual Power Productions (2010)
Having been part of the official selection for the 2011 BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, this film will shortly be making its way onto DVD.
Jesus (Maximillian Davis), after an unfaithful and unprotected fling, has not only irrevocably damaged his relationship with Johnny (Samonte Cruz), but also threatened their health. Jesus is then diagnosed with HIV. After being rescued by drag queen Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters) after a suicide attempt, Jesus must learn to live with the virus, find out who exactly his friends are, and attempt to repair the damage he’s caused to those around him.
What is striking about the film is just how upfront and honest it is about living with HIV. There is no glamorisation or over-egged melodrama, just a very sober and matter-of-fact portrayal of one man’s predicament. But in its quest to be true to life, ironically, it perhaps fails by achieving this a little too well.
The film’s action is such that it often feels very much like sitting in a room unnoticed, watching the story as it unfolds. Whilst the premise is bold and provocative, the problem is that real life in the raw often isn’t all that interesting. The dialogue is flat, which adds to the drag of the slow and protracted pace of many scenes. This is especially true when compared against the snippets of Jesus’s poetry that frame certain moments, which are actually quite inspiring and profound. But it seems to only make the colourless language of conversations seem all the more mundane.
While there is little wrong with Billie Rain’s direction, there is little there to elevate the film above the average. There are no latent beauties exploited in Seattle’s grey cityscape, and the scenes are filmed in a straightforward style, bar a bit of shaky hand-held camera work in more dramatic moments.
The strength of the film lies in its cast. Peters’ performance is noticeably the strongest, especially through the raw feel of the film. He exudes an alluring, larger-than-life charisma, but he never comes across as insincere or inauthentic. Davis is also solid and believable as the film’s lead, but his best scenes are those with Peters, as there’s a real sense of chemistry and kinship between them that comes across well. On top of the performances there is also a nice, if not slightly underplayed, examination of the affects of HIV on spirituality, giving the film some original edge.
To give credit where it’s due, Rain’s and producer Basil Shadid’s vision for tackling a subject that is often sensationalised, demonised, or doom-mongered is what really marks this feature as a credible piece of LGBT filmmaking. It manages to highlight in a very down-to-earth manner the challenges and obstacles of real people living with a real disease. However, it’s a shame that its execution fails to make it anything too remarkable.
Heart Breaks Open is released on DVD on 15 November 2011. For more information about the film, upcoming screenings, and DVD release information, visit www.heartbreaksopen.com.
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