Queer Love For Valentine’s Day
BAM’s long weekend of romance has three queer classics
BY GARY M. KRAMER
For valentines — or anyone who loves
classic queer fi lms — BAM Film is offering
three great features as part of
its “Long Weekend of Love” program of
nine offerings February 14-17.
Donna Deitch’s “Desert Hearts” (February 14,
at 7 p.m.) was an instant classic of lesbian cinema
when it was released back in 1985. The fi lm,
set in 1959 Reno, compassionately depicts the
love that develops between Vivian (Helen Shaver),
an English professor waiting out a divorce,
and Cay (Patricia Charbonneau, in a remarkable
debut), a smoldering beauty who works at
a casino and lives on the ranch where Vivian
is staying. Deitch said in a 2017 interview with
Gay City News that she admires the fact that
the fi lm is “a love story between two people who
initially have absolutely nothing in common except
that they are the same sex.”
Vivian is prim and proper and wants to “be
free of who I’ve been,” while Cay is reckless; the
sultry young woman is seen driving backward
when she fi rst meets Vivian. Their slow-burn
attraction heats up when the women kiss in the
rain, but their relationship soon has tongues
wagging. The tender love scene between Vivian
and Cay is the centerpiece of the fi lm and quite
sexy.
Deitch’s fi lm was a milestone of independent
fi lm when it was made, and it still holds 35
years later. Moreover, it absolutely benefi ts from
being seen on the big screen.
Andrew Haigh’s excellent, intimate gay romance,
“Weekend” (February 15, 4:45 p.m.)
from 2011, invites viewers to eavesdrop on the
budding relationship between Russell (Tom
Cullen) and Glen (Chris New). Meeting at a club
one evening, they spend the night together. And
then the next day, and the next night, and the
next day.
Glen is an artist and has a queer political
bent. Russell is more subdued, an everyman
who just wants to be happy. Their conversations
are often poignant — Chris explains how
he was outed in school—and sometimes heated,
as when Russell argues a position about gay
marriage. Haigh fi lms these men in a neo-realist
style in Russell’s apartment, or chatting idly
on public transit.
Although the story has the typical romantic
trajectory (meet-kiss-argue-make-up) the fi lm
is incredibly affecting because it is so achingly
real. Haigh’s observational approach chronicles
Russell and Glen’s palpable attraction. Their
physical closeness — watch the guys’ body
language as they chat in the kitchen or on the
Guinevere Turner in Rose Troche’s 1994 “Go Fish.”
couch — adds depth to their developing emotional
attachment. It makes their sex, when
they have it, even hotter.
“Weekend” may seem like a two-hander better
suited to the stage, but the fi lm’s intense,
personal style draws viewers in; audiences become
invested in the relationship to the same
degree that Russell falls for Glen (and maybe
Glen for Russell). This approach gives the fi lm
its passion and emotion that is felt in the fi lm’s
very moving fi nale.
The performers are fantastic in their roles.
Handsome without being too pretty, they seem
comfortable and natural together. Cullen nicely
underplays his part; a scene at his goddaughter’s
birthday party belies his desires to be with
Glen. New is particularly charismatic and irresistible.
Watching these men connect one cannot
help but fall in love.
“Go Fish” (February 17, 7 p.m.) was a watershed
release in 1994. It was part of the New
Queer Cinema movement and helped launch
the careers of writer/ director Rose Troche and
writer/ actress Guinevere Turner. This charming
romance, set in Chicago, has Max (Turner)
a “carefree single lesbo looking for love,” being
unexpectedly set up with Ely (V.S. Brodie).
Their fi rst date is fi lled with promise, but Ely
confesses that she has a girlfriend — albeit one
who lives thousands of miles away in Seattle.
As their relationship develops slowly, their mutual
friends meet up and discuss the would-be
CINEMA
BAM FILM
couple’s progress, acting as a Greek chorus.
While the narrative thread about whether
Max and Ely will couple up is slight, Troche
fl eshes out the story with insight into queer
representation, sex and gender roles — including
butch/ femme dichotomies — and even the
best terms for female genitalia. A lengthy scene
features a “tribunal,” where a lesbian who slept
with a man has to defend her actions and her
sexuality in front of a judgmental group of women.
Another key moment has a young woman
outed to her family and then kicked out of the
house. The fi lm also has some experimental sequences,
such as one featuring Max in a wedding
dress imagining a heterosexual life.
Part of the appeal of “Go Fish” is its scrappy
indie vibe and mixed race cast; it was shot
in 35mm black-and-white on a tiny budget
($15,000). An extended phone call between
Max and Ely is as enchanting as a dinner party
where the guests play “I never.”
Turner is charismatic as Max, and while Brodie
is a bit stiff initially, her performance and
her character become quite likeable. A scene of
Ely walking home after a night out with Max is
particularly winning.
“Go Fish” captured magic in a bottle back in
the day. It’s worth rewatching.
LONG WEEKEND OF LOVE | BAM Film, Peter
J. Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland
Pl., Brooklyn | Feb. 14-17 | bam.org/fi lm/2020/
long-weekend-of-love
GayCityNews.com | February 13 - February 26, 2020 31
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/GayCityNews.com
