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 ...
in 1980 in downtown New York, we meet the trio of Kate, a budding singer; photographer Anton and a painter/graffiti artist Keith. The three of them spend time sharing bed, drugs, partying. all night clubbing and sometimes also working towards their art. The three are joined to the hip but are also allowed to play around outside. Things change when gay men mysteriously start getting sick around 1984 and both Keith and Anton are not spared. We also see a little bit of wealthy art patron Harold who gives Anton an opportunity to become famous, but he is also sick now. The film oscillates between these 2 time zones with the mean dealing with their sickness and the audience getting to see the colorful life of these individuals just a few years back.
To be honest, there really wasn't much point to the film. I would have loved to see how the trio met, what their inside dynamics is like. Instead we see them already together, very sorted, not jealous of each other, fully supportive, living together. A little too good. We see all kinds of pleasure seeking activities between these men, which I guess was to show the stark contrast to the times when they struggle even to breathe because of AIDS. We also see some mocumentary like interviews with a couple of folks while Keith is bedridden in hospital and Anton is struggling to enjoy his fame. Thankfully, the three actors do a pretty convincing job portraying their roles, but the screenplay is a huge let down. Maybe the budget was limited for filming but at least more effort could have been out otherwise in story details.
Not bad but easily forgettable. (4/10)
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