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 ...
Handsome young hustler Gabriel works the grimy streets of Los Angeles with a group of colorful friends. He even steals money from his male clients, something that he has made a habit of, since he needs to send money back to his mother for financial support. One day at a train platform, he meets Martha, a friendly older widow who hires him to spend time with her during the holidays to just sit and talk. The first meeting goes fine and it's the first time, Gabriel leaves the money on the table. He eventually finds out that she is a writer and famous author and he reaches out o her again. Escaping their separate situations, the two take a trip to the coast. As he reads her memoir and learns more about her, Gabriel makes notes in his journal and begins to think about his own future. Turns out Gabriel likes to write and in Martha he finds an unlikely mentor, a guide and a friend. But he also continues to feel like his life is heading toward a dead end. He got beaten up by a client from whom he regularly stole. In a short of events, he lives hustling and gets a job of bartending and in an emotional finale learns that Martha passed away of sickness.
Almost nothing in the film is properly built up. We are shown everything from far. Gabriel never really is shown to have sex with his male clients, instead he is now an expert in dodging sex and stealing money from them, which feels way too easy. But the film never explores or shows us the harsh reality of street hustler's life. It's only when a friend of Gabriel does of overdose, Gabriel rethinks his life. Similarly, even his relationship with Martha never gets fully built up. It all just feels very superficial. The performances also were quite average. Gabriel seems like a very polished individual, extremely good looking, but we never get to know why he is working streets, why does he insist on sending money to his mother or what his character's background is. As a result, you never really connect with the audience. It's a shame since the actor playing Gabriel is also the director of the film, and it seems he is too busy not to hide his good looks. Much of the film is assembled from random clips edited together into montages, often in slow motion. But overall the film is clunky, with a half-baked plot (I am not sure what was the messaging) and some awkward performances; I am not even sure if the film qualifies to be reviewed as a queer film, because all we see in the film is Gabriel catering to gay clients for sex, which actually never happens. The romantic comedy version of a similar subject 'Good Luck to You, Leo Grande' was lot more fun. This one can be missed. (3.5/10)
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