I think the theme is fascinating: How on earth can gay escorts do what they do? And how does it affect them? Apparently many escorts have intimacy and trust issues that stem from the superficial nature of their relationships with their clients.
In this movie, our handsome hero is an escort struggling with such interpersonal and relationship issues. His two roommates are both in love with him, but he pushes them away. Not surprisingly, he finds it difficult to open up and have a "real" (i.e. non-pecuniary) relationship with someone appropriate. X had come to think of sex and emotions as having great value, I suppose. Not something to be given away for free.
I didn't really get this movie. There were problems with the dialogue, character development and plot. Some aspects of the movie just didn't ring true.
Even though he's a highly paid escort, X seemed to be living like a waiter.
We're not really shown why X is such a great escort. This movie needed an elegiac sex scene that made clear why X is good at what he does. Why did he love it so much?
X falling for Gregory didn't seem right to me. I get it that opening up emotionally to an older man could lead to feelings of intimacy (especially since Gregory was acting like a therapist), but why should that lead to desire? Intimacy and desire are two different things. The sex scenes between them were problematic for me.
When Joey offered himself to X both emotionally and physically, it seemed inexplicable to me that X felt nothing. If these scenes were meant to show us X's dysfunction, they worked. X lacks the easy sexuality of most gay men.
The movie hinged around X's emotional life, which was in turmoil. Sure, escorts can be prone to self-image problems and depression. Perhaps it's too difficult to show this on film, but we don't really find out why he has such intimacy problems and why he's such an as*hole. Near the end he sobs "I'm a freak", but I didn't really understand why he was feeling this way.
By the end of the movie, I was annoyed by X.
We were told repeatedly that X was in love with Andrew, and vice versa, but I didn't feel that at all. It didn't seem like real love at all. Maybe lust on Andrew's part. But what was it on X's part? X's emotional turmoil would have been difficult for the most difficult actor to convey on film, especially if the lines weren't right.
Perhaps I've not really understood this movie properly, even though I've seen it twice. Maybe this is actually a profound movie with much to say about the emotional life of gay escorts.
However, it left me with a disengaged, flat and down feeling afterwards. I wasn't moved at all. I can't say I really enjoyed the film. Worth about 5 or 6 out of 10.
In this movie, our handsome hero is an escort struggling with such interpersonal and relationship issues. His two roommates are both in love with him, but he pushes them away. Not surprisingly, he finds it difficult to open up and have a "real" (i.e. non-pecuniary) relationship with someone appropriate. X had come to think of sex and emotions as having great value, I suppose. Not something to be given away for free.
I didn't really get this movie. There were problems with the dialogue, character development and plot. Some aspects of the movie just didn't ring true.
Even though he's a highly paid escort, X seemed to be living like a waiter.
We're not really shown why X is such a great escort. This movie needed an elegiac sex scene that made clear why X is good at what he does. Why did he love it so much?
X falling for Gregory didn't seem right to me. I get it that opening up emotionally to an older man could lead to feelings of intimacy (especially since Gregory was acting like a therapist), but why should that lead to desire? Intimacy and desire are two different things. The sex scenes between them were problematic for me.
When Joey offered himself to X both emotionally and physically, it seemed inexplicable to me that X felt nothing. If these scenes were meant to show us X's dysfunction, they worked. X lacks the easy sexuality of most gay men.
The movie hinged around X's emotional life, which was in turmoil. Sure, escorts can be prone to self-image problems and depression. Perhaps it's too difficult to show this on film, but we don't really find out why he has such intimacy problems and why he's such an as*hole. Near the end he sobs "I'm a freak", but I didn't really understand why he was feeling this way.
By the end of the movie, I was annoyed by X.
We were told repeatedly that X was in love with Andrew, and vice versa, but I didn't feel that at all. It didn't seem like real love at all. Maybe lust on Andrew's part. But what was it on X's part? X's emotional turmoil would have been difficult for the most difficult actor to convey on film, especially if the lines weren't right.
Perhaps I've not really understood this movie properly, even though I've seen it twice. Maybe this is actually a profound movie with much to say about the emotional life of gay escorts.
However, it left me with a disengaged, flat and down feeling afterwards. I wasn't moved at all. I can't say I really enjoyed the film. Worth about 5 or 6 out of 10.