Friends And Lovers

There have been quite a few films that depict loneliness in a gay man's life. There are also films that have shown a gay man's obsession for a straight guy. This film combines these 2 elements and tries to present something different. How I wish, the director would have succeeded in doing so. There were so many questions unanswered and so many scenes that did not fit in which we will talk about in a little bit more detail further. Lets talk about the story first.

Jim is a pretty lonely man with a man of routine. He has somehow accepted his life which also includes his disapproving father and continue with it. A change comes in his life when he meets a waitress Claire at the restaurant where he frequents. They have instant connection in arts and start hanging out. Jim fears a strong connection with a woman and when Claire declares her love for him, he sinks deeper into isolation and loneliness. Around the same time, when his car breaks down, Jim meets Tom, a mechanic, a man of openness and a passion for life. Jim’s instant liking for Tom becomes an awakening of the spirit. They start hanging out together and become good friends. Quick to see his potential as an artist, Jim convinces Tom to visit museums. As the two become friends, Tom’s initial resistance to taking his art seriously begins to change and, in the light of Jim’s encouragement, Tom finds the courage to fulfill his own potential. The problem is that Jim is now falling in love with Tom. He somehow assumes that Tom loves him to but is heart broken when Tom tells him he is straight. His friendship and love both backfire and now Jim will do anything to the level of obsession and madness to get Tom's love.

The story as you see is very interesting. There were few things that I really appreciate. When Tom figures out that Jim is gay and that is why he was befriending him, he does not lose his control, instead he gives Jim a friendly hug and says that he will forget everything and would still wanna be friends with Jim but it is Jim who reacts in a weird manner. He wants either love or nothing (which in my mind was avery absurd thing to say). Jim is lonely. Rather than coming to senses and prevent the friendship threads falling, he in turn forces Tom and himself to start avoiding and even hating each other. It is very clear that Tom wants friendship. I wonder if the film maker was trying to show that Jim was a mean character. Because the way he treats Claire and leaves her high and dry and then his obnoxious behavior with Tom, makes me question Jim's character. If that was the director's idea, then I must say that he did not do a good job of bringing that out.

Acting by principal characters was quite decent but overall the movie does not hold attention after a while. (3.5/10)