This movie intends to give a realistic account of what can happen if an old lover out-off the blue pops-up into the life of his former boyfriend, who in the meantime has gone into a new relationship. Here, the two former lovers are drawn to each other once again, the third party feels betrayed and isolated and tries to find a strategic way to hold on to his love. This may sound like a potentially exciting premise, but unfortunately it resulted in a movie with a sullen and almost fatalistic atmosphere, where all parties concerned don't yell or go at each other's throats, but mostly stay composed, ponder a lot, and basically let nature have it's way. To be honest: it all turned out as a bit of a bore.
To make things harder, the two former lovers are hardly sympathetic, which makes it difficult to identify with either of them. Troy is knowingly messing-up Jonathan's and Raul's relationship, while it's also clear that his intentions are dubious, since we see him philandering through town, with every night another guy in his bed. Jonathan just seems very flattered and infatuated by all the renewed attention and gives as good as zero resistance to Troy's advances. I guess our sympathy should have to be with poor Raul, but his reactions are so secondary and ambiguous that it's hardly clear if he makes a go for saving his relationship himself. And in the end all things pretty much are as when the movie began, everyone takes up his old life, but with some new scars.
Murray Bartlett as Troy is good-looking in a sturdy, macho (and very hairy!) way, but everyone's ravings ("O my god, TROY is back in town!!") as if he was some long lost sexual icon, were waisted on me. Daniel Dugan as Jonathan looks merely cute, but without (noticeable) substance, more or less like a purring kitten curled up on the bed, to be fondled by everyone who comes along. It was beyond me anyway, why these two totally opposite guys should feel such mutual attraction. Adrian Gonzalez as Raul in my opinion didn't get enough room to show his full potential.
A last point of criticism: the director made some strange choices in the editing. We hop back and forth through time, see Troy with cut-off hair and then later on with normal hair, and more of these inconsistencies in the chronology. Of course such a choice can have some artistic meaning, but if so, I missed the point of it; here it impressed me as unnecessary and confusing.
To make things harder, the two former lovers are hardly sympathetic, which makes it difficult to identify with either of them. Troy is knowingly messing-up Jonathan's and Raul's relationship, while it's also clear that his intentions are dubious, since we see him philandering through town, with every night another guy in his bed. Jonathan just seems very flattered and infatuated by all the renewed attention and gives as good as zero resistance to Troy's advances. I guess our sympathy should have to be with poor Raul, but his reactions are so secondary and ambiguous that it's hardly clear if he makes a go for saving his relationship himself. And in the end all things pretty much are as when the movie began, everyone takes up his old life, but with some new scars.
Murray Bartlett as Troy is good-looking in a sturdy, macho (and very hairy!) way, but everyone's ravings ("O my god, TROY is back in town!!") as if he was some long lost sexual icon, were waisted on me. Daniel Dugan as Jonathan looks merely cute, but without (noticeable) substance, more or less like a purring kitten curled up on the bed, to be fondled by everyone who comes along. It was beyond me anyway, why these two totally opposite guys should feel such mutual attraction. Adrian Gonzalez as Raul in my opinion didn't get enough room to show his full potential.
A last point of criticism: the director made some strange choices in the editing. We hop back and forth through time, see Troy with cut-off hair and then later on with normal hair, and more of these inconsistencies in the chronology. Of course such a choice can have some artistic meaning, but if so, I missed the point of it; here it impressed me as unnecessary and confusing.