Parting Glances

Rating:
Summary: First, and Foremost a Good Film
Review: What makes Parting Glances among the best of gay themed films is that it is first and foremost good film making...good writing. One way or another, Bill Sherwood knew that the demands of storytelling come first. So, while the gayness of the characters is inseprable from the story, it never becomes the story. These are characters indvidually realized. If any straight friends were curious about a gay themed film, this is the one I would put in their hands.
You might think a film about 24 hours in a man's life might end up being another "slice of life" shapeless slog-fest. Not in this case. The film has pace; there's nothing extraneous; nothing that doesn't add to your appreciation of the characters, whether it's a side bar discussion about a Flemmish painting, or a flash-back fantasy of a marauding romp around a Fire Island queen's swimming pool...everything contributes and moves the story forward.
It's a shame film making has lost Bill Sherwood. We can only wonder what else he might have created. Parting Glances is a beautiful legacy.

Rating:
Summary: First, and Foremost a Good Film
Review: What makes Parting Glances among the best of gay themed films is that it is first and foremost good film making...good writing. One way or another, Bill Sherwood knew that the demands of storytelling come first. So, while the gayness of the characters is inseprable from the story, it never becomes the story. These are characters indvidually realized. If any straight friends were curious about a gay themed film, this is the one I would put in their hands.
You might think a film about 24 hours in a man's life might end up being another "slice of life" shapeless slog-fest. Not in this case. The film has pace; there's nothing extraneous; nothing that doesn't add to your appreciation of the characters, whether it's a side bar discussion about a Flemmish painting, or a flash-back fantasy of a marauding romp around a Fire Island queen's swimming pool...everything contributes and moves the story forward.
It's a shame film making has lost Bill Sherwood. We can only wonder what else he might have created. Parting Glances is a beautiful legacy.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant exposition of relationship breakup.
Review: While I saw this film on VHS, it is a no-holds-barred story of how complex a homosexual breakup can be. There are no fights, no recriminations; only the anxiety of two people who love passionately, but realize that living together is terribly difficult for men. Career goals, friends (including one with AIDS), and New York City all passively conspire to make daily life and dreams for the future together impossible. Beautifully photographed in and around the Upper West Side (like "You've Got Mail), it contains a wonderful party scene, reminiscent of that one in "Breakfast at Tiffany," where even though there are a number of conversations going on all at once, you can understand them and they're hilarious! The final scene at the beach on Fire Island, just like in "Longtime Companion," epitomizes the life cycle not of just life and death, but of renewal of spirit, rebirth of opportunity, and hope for the future.