This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Mark and Jonah look like your typical happily monogamous gay couple. Although happy, we see that Mark is increasingly unhappy and frustrated with all the demeaning auditions that he has been giving. He also feels diminishing passion for his musician boyfriend Jonah. Jonah realizes there is an issue but Mark never opens up to him. Since, Jonah is happy, very much in love, and caring; Mark feels maybe its his problem and suggests couple’s therapy. But once in therapy, he continues to resist any exercises or methods that therapist suggests. We also find that he takes anti-depressants. Also we don’t know much about his background. His sister constantly calls him but he never returns calls even when his father dies. Ultimately, Mark confesses to not being in love anymore with Jonah and they break up. Months later, they meet at a friends wedding and this is when for the first time Mark apologizes to Jonah for everything that he did to him.
As I mentioned earlier, the film is simple but quite repetitive. There are multiple scenes of Mark practicing his audition, giving auditions and getting his car cleaned. Long shots of hi lost in thought and unsure of what he wants from life. Yes, he knows the passion with Jonah is missing and he tries to bring back passion using alcohol and drinks, but that doesn’t work either. Mark is confused and unsure of what he wants from life. Clearly there is a strained relationship that Mark shares with his family back in Austria but we never find out the details. Mark, who also happens to be the producer/director of the film , is in every single frame. It gets tiresome watching such a cold, self-absorbed and self-destructive character continuously. It would have been really good to see Jonah’s point of view as well, because he just became a mute spectator in all this without any say in everything. A tiny hint of emotion only comes towards the end when the two guys meet but its to late in the game. Despite all this, I liked the film (minus the slow pace). You do feel for the character because of brilliant acting by both Mark and Jonah. Jonah is extremely good looking with a very infectious smile. Someone that you would love to take home to your mother.
I think, if more thought and planning went into the project, this could have easily taken the route of ‘Weekend’. In fact, if same actors were used, it could have been a brilliant sequel. The former was about 2 people coming together and this one is about a gay couple’s failing relationships. Pretty good but it quite didn’t reach there. (6.5/10)
Comments
I did a search for a review and realized it was a book and not a movie, lol. I read Don't Trust the Cut this weekend. For some odd reason I thought it was going to be a skateboarder rom-com, but it was a portrayal of a young man with some serious psychiatric issues. It was a real page turner and did not gloss over the sometimes devastating impact of mental illness on a person and on the people around him. I'm too old for binge-reading. My eyes were sore looking at the computer screen at work today.
Interesting info about he book, although I feel like its been forever since I read any book. Maybe time to shake up things a little. lol