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LATTER DAYS 2004 Gay Interest
I hope this gem of a movie makes up for it !!! enjoy.
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Wes Ramsey, Steve Sandvoss, Jacqueline Bisset, Mary Kay Place, Erik Palladino
Director C. Jay Cox
Latter Days, the directorial debut from writer/director C. Jay Cox (Sweet Home Alabama), is a touching romance about the most unlikely of opposites attracting. Loosely based on Cox?s own Mormon upbringing and subsequent party lifestyle, the film manages to bring a tenderness to its examination of highly controversial themes, dealing with religious fundamentalism and homophobia to create an emotionally charged film with both a brain and a heart.
Aaron, played by Steve Sandvoss (Rumor Has It), is a Mormon missionary and recent arrival in LA. He lives with three other Mormon roommates and goes door-to-door with Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brick,Mysterious Skin and TV?s Third Rock from the Sun) in attempt to spread their religion, which more often than not, is met with the slamming of a door. Christian, played by Wes Ramsey of TV?s Charmed, meanwhile, is a West Hollywood waiter/party boy, going man-to-man with little use or desire for commitment. As fate would have it, the two live in the same apartment complex and, spurred by a $50 bet with his co-workers, Christian aims to seduce one of the four Mormon boys, setting his sights on Aaron.
But after Aaron comes clean about his closeted sexuality to Christian, he also rejects his advances, criticizing the sexually aggressive playboy for being superficial and shallow. This accusation rocks Christian to core, who soon finds himself questioning his own lifestyle and unwittingly falling for the soft-spoken Mormon. But when Aaron?s roommates find him and Christian giving into their uncontrollable passion in their living room, he is sent back home to Idaho to deal with the repercussions. Excommunicated by his church and exiled by his family, Aaron?s life spirals out of control and Christian must deal with losing his one true love. Latter Days is an emotional tale of loss, confusion, forgiveness, and the perseverance that all accompany the modern search for love.
With great zeal yet remarkable tact, Cox tackles the rather prickly clash between Aaron’s homosexuality and his strict Mormon upbringing. Mary Kay Place (Sweet Home Alabama), as Aaron’s mother, does a terrific job of playing the disapproving and misguided mother, yet Cox does not make his characters out to be mere stereotypes. Instead, he allows them the proper emotional depth to make them feel like living, breathing human beings. Rather than merely demonizing Aaron’s callous mother, Cox allows her inner struggle to show through during her subtle, but noticeable, change of heart. And the statement Latter Days makes becomes all the more powerful due to this commitment to authenticity. |
