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News from the Rehoboth Beach Film Society
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
Sound familiar? Film advertisements use
this marketing jargon to generate excitement for the next big film.
Whether it works is questionable, but one can be sure that rarely is a
film that has a prominent GLBT subject or characters promoted this way.
Sure there was the huge success of Brokeback Mountain and Oscar sweetheart
Capote, but those two films are exceptions.
While the remainder of 2008 may not be a
banner year for GLBT films making the big time, there are certainly a few
gems (at least on paper) that are worth getting excited about. So…be
sure to see the following at a theater near you.
Savage Grace. Known for his 1992
indie hit Swoon as well as several small budget, semi-experimental films,
Savage Grace is directed by Tom Kalin and is based on the award-winning
book. This intense film is a true story about Barbara Daly, wife of the
heir of the Bakelite plastics fortune, and her obscene relationship with
her gay son. You can expect Kalin’s characteristic cerebral wit,
perversity and aesthete’s eye in this portrait of the lifestyles and
mental collapses of the rich and famous. Told in six acts set between 1946
and 1972, the film is narrated by Tony Baekeland (a waifish Eddie Redmayne),
the only child of the stunning but neurotic Barbara (Moore) and the
raffish Brooks (Stephen Dillane), a descendant of the inventor of plastic.
Barbara is wildly pretentious, insecure and desperate for affection, so
when she produces Tony, the perfect heir, she crushes him with her love
and her neediness. As he grows up their relationship becomes more and more
degenerate, especially as they are confined to a globe-spanning social
bubble of the ultra-wealthy where anything goes. With no boundaries and
considerable opportunity for transgression, tragedy is inevitable. Dark
and queasy, Savage Grace boasts an oppressive atmosphere and ornately
mannered dialogue, so don’t expect a traditional Hollywood
narrative—this is far more fascinating stuff. Brought to life by a
stellar cast led by Moore in an astounding and brave performance, the
characters resemble delicate crystalline figures trapped in an amoral
world. [2008, runtime: 97 minutes, Not rated]
Mama Mia. This mega smash hit stage
play turned movie is about 18-year-old Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried)
who has a problem. It is almost her wedding day and she doesn’t know who
her father is. It could be any of her mother’s (Meryl Streep) past
suitors: Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Bill Austin (Stellan Skarsgård),
or Harry Bright (Colin Firth). The only way for her to find out is to
invite all three to her wedding to see what happens. Bear in mind that the
story unfolds through ABBA songs. So while it may not be “gay” it is
rare when the words ABBA and gay are not uttered together. The cast has
been rumored to embrace their inner ABBA and have toured many a karaoke
bar to show off their new found talents.
Bruno. Does the name Sacha Baron
Cohen ring any bells? How about Borat? Well Cohen is the actor who
performs a variety of outrageous characters including Bruno, a gay
Austrian fashionist who in this incarnation takes his show on the road to
America. With no real script and no real story, it is a mockumentary that
is sure to skewer just about anything and everything gay. So if you take
yourself too seriously, you might want to take a pass on this one as it is
sure to be a no- holds-barred event.
Milk. Directed by gay director Gus
Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, Milk is the story of
California’s first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk (played by
Sean Penn) who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone at City
Hall by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). Emile Hirsch has
been cast as gay rights activist Cleve Jones, an intern and close ally of
Milk’s, who went on to found the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
James Franco will play Scott Smith, Milk’s lover and campaign manager.
Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks, the producing
duo who have brought to the screen such gems as American Beauty and the TV
show Pushing Daises, bring their award winning touch to Milk. The film’s
budget was rumored to be around 27 million dollars, a figure that Bruce
Cohen denies stating that it was a project that so many people believed in
that they worked for well below their normal salaries.
Stay tuned for information about films that
will not be coming soon to a theater near you.
For more information about the films,
visit the Film Society web site at rehobothfilm.com. For screening times,
call the Movies at Midway at 302-645-0200.
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