Rating: 
Summary: Don't purchase this movie
Review: This movie is very quirky but have to agree w/ other reviewers on the content of the movie. This is a movie about a serial child molester and not the tender love story the case and some reviews I have read made it out to be. This is not gay cinema and plays more like a NAMBLA fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye contact has never been so cinematic
Review: What a lovely film this is. Despite its occasional pacing problems and some awkward line readings, the film's heart and the director's loving attention to the way people look and don't look at each other, shine through. I was surprised at how accessible and sympathetic the story was. Although I've never had a relationship of this sort, the idea has always fascinated me. There were moments when I could feel the filmmakers pushing the boundaries of what we will accept in our entertainment, but they never crossed that line. They never exploited the sensitive subject matter -- or either of the romantic leads -- to produce a political statement about taboos or societal norms. Perhaps most appealing to me was the naturalistic acting style (Eban and Charley and some of the supporting characters seemed like they were selected off the street one weekend and started filming the next). There are moments of protracted silence during which the story moves forward only through the interplay between Eban and Charley's eyes. And what beautiful eyes they are. Terrific casting, with all the needed chemistry that ensues. Restrained, careful, and provocative. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Where Angels Fear to Tread
Review: While most reviews to-date focus on the author's opinion on adult-adolescent relationships in general or on the romance displayed in "Eban and Charley", it might be useful to consider how Eban and Charley managed themselves through the movie.Twenty-nine-year old Eban (played by Brent Fellows), carrying a duffel bag and a guitar, takes a train home (filmed in Seaside, Oregon). Eban is ostensibly taking his Christmas vacation from his job in Seattle coaching (junior?) high school soccer. In fact the school had fired him quietly for an inappropriate relationship with a student. Curiously, the school chose to tell Eban's father (played by Ron Upton), who keeps it to himself for a while. Eban hangs on to a photo of the student and glances longingly at it from time to time. Eban does have to remake himself. Riding a bike around town, Eban stops at a CD store where soon-to-be fifteen-year old Charley (played by Giovanni Andrade) is shopping with his deaf-mute friend, Kevin (played by Drew Zeller). Eban strikes up several conversations with Charley. They share an interest in guitar playing, drawing, and poetry. Charley's mother died recently, and his father (played by Nolan V. Chard) is actively dating and seems unsupportive to Charley. Eban and Charley become friends. At this point the audience can suspect Eban being a classic ephebephile. Then the dynamic changes. Charley emerges as the more driven character, the one with the vision. Eban settles back into a passive role, like the more classic female romance character who first hooks her man and later lets him feel in command. Charley drives the action forward. In their tasteful make-out scene, Charley is on top, kissing and groping Eban, who just lies there. A parallel story shows Charley's girl friend Sunshine (played by Ellie Nicholson), who claims people have only one chance at happiness. She is going to take hers by running away with Kevin. Charley is very interested in the details. Are there an ultimate purpose, a destination, economic support, and safety from pursuit? Charley even gives her some money from the cache his mother left behind to him and which his father wants for bill payments. When Eban and Charley's fathers start actively disapproving, some decisions need making. Should Eban and Charley stop seeing each other? If Eban moved home for good, how would they circumvent family and other resistance? If Charley moved to Seattle, how would Eban support him? Would Charley have to contribute? What about Charley's schooling? What about Eban's former love interest? What about a future Eban love interest? What if an official from Eban's former school sees Eban and Charley together? How many hours would it take for Charley's father to get Eban arrested? If they moved abroad, where to? What about passports and visas? What about money? At this point someone has to be the adult. Charley presents a vision but now delegates it to Eban to figure out the mechanics. Big John of "L.I.E." could sort it out. Is Eban up to it? The acting is good, suiting the characters and their ages. The script is straightforward. The romance feels dreamy and poetic, while the camera keeps a sharper focus.
The movie ends with a hopeful feeling, but isn't it a fool's paradise?
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