BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING: Joseph Graham's lovely tale of a night of need and longing

"This is one of the best gay movies I've ever seen," my spouse declared, wide-eyed and, I think, hugely surprised by his own reaction, as the end credits of BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING began to roll. TrustMovies agrees with that assessment. Even though he's seen a lot more GLBT films than has his spouse, this new film from writer/director Joseph Graham -- very sexual and very hot, but also thoughtful and moving, utterly specific and absolutely genuine -- looks into the lives of six young men and one older one in late-night Philadelphia and finds a ton of need and longing, as well as a symphony of love, sex and art (the last both visual and verbal).

This is quite an accomplishment and it makes the movie one of the few gay films I've seen in the past several years that rises above its genre to become a movie about gays that I think could reach a much wider audience. This is due to its fine specificity and how it deals with feelings -- of loss and need, of identity and meaning -- with which so many of us struggle.

The struggle in this film is beautifully rendered by its accomplished cast, only one of whom I've seen previously but all of whom I shall remember. And not simply because of their physical beauty, which is on full display, but due more to how they bring their struggle to angry, sad, sometimes amusing, and alternately appealing and appalling life.

The acting here is sometimes almost shockingly naked -- and not simply for lack of clothing. You really feel for these guys. Chief among them is a young man named Brian (a splendid Brian Sheppard, above), still aching from a breakup with his best friend and deepest lover, Dan (Grant Lancaster).  The need in this young man is so strong and ferocious that it takes him to extremes both sexual and emotional.

Likewise the somewhat "kept" boy named Jim (Zach Ryan, above), involved with a famous artist (played by the visual knockout Colman Domingo, below) who seems to care about his "trophy" but also may be using the more-than-compliant young man for mere (but also pretty damned good) sex.

Into this mix arrives Bob (John Lescault, below, right), a wealthy older man who cruises the area in his limo, looking for his own kind of satisfaction. Add to the group a fellow named Chris (David Melissaratos), whom Brian picks up at a local bar, and who is deeply insecure about his sexual orientation, and a sexy, out-of-the-blue guy on a bike (Matthew Rios), with a more than minor interest in our Brian.

The small-time dance these guys engage in -- haltingly or with an indiscriminate push -- and their several connections, meaningful or minor, are so full of life, emotion and truth that by the end of the night, we feel we've experienced something major and surprisingly rich. Mr. Graham knows how to engulf us in both the sensual and the intellectual, and his cast member manages to seem real and genuine at both these tasks, and at each and every moment.  Even the poetry that Brian is finally able to write makes something artful and beautiful out of his longing and need.

From Ariztical Entertainment and running 97 minutes, Beautiful Something opens theatrically in New York City at the Cinema Village and in Los Angeles at the Arena Cinema this Friday, May 6, in advance of its digital and cable VOD release on Tuesday, May 17. 

Vittoria's MUMIA movie hits DVD, and the entire package marks a big improvement

The DVD of MUMIA: Long-Distance Revolutionary is now available from First Run Features, and it contains exactly what I found missing from this repetitive and overlong film: an encapsulation of the putrid prosecution case by the Philadelphia DA’s office against this journalist, showing up the many lies involved, along with intimidated witnesses and the despicable police in charge of the initial investigation, who were already under surveillance because of their suspected corruptions (which is why none of their testimony made the actual trial of Mumia). I believe a much stronger case can be made for the journalist’s innocence than for his guilt.

Why filmmaker Stephen Vittoria did not hack out a full half-hour of his finally too-lengthy and tiresomely pushy film (regarding how wonderful Mumia is, among other repeated points) and insert this 25-minute section – which covers what any newcomers to the case will want to know, while giving those of us already familiar with it a much-needed and helpful memory jog/update – is anybody’s guess. Whatever, you can see this excellent and concise piece of film journalism on the DVD as an “extra,” so you might want to watch it first, before going on to the actual film itself.  Directed, and well, by Mr. Vittoria, this 25-minute short quite literally makes the existence of the two-hour movie worthwhile.

Below is my original review of the film, slightlly edited and updated....

Imagine: A feel-good documentary about a guy on death row who gets his sentence lessened to life in prison! That's Mumia (the man, Mumia Abu-Jamal) and MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY, the new movie about him by filmmaker Stephen Vittoria. Unfortunately, there's a black hole in this project, the size of which could suck in one of the universes from the recent John Dies at the End. And the oddest thing is, Mr Vittoria has actually planned it that way. The below is from the press kit for the documentary: Unlike any other film about Mumia Abu-­‐Jamal, Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary does not deal with Mumia’s case but rather his work as a journalist prior to and after incarceration on Pennsylvania’s death row. “I wasn’t interested in re-­hashing the same polarizing standoff between those who want Mumia to fry and those who want him free,” Vittoria states.

Well, Mr. Vittoria, shown at left, may not be interested in re-hashing Mumia's court case, but his audience most definitely is. (And who says it has to be a rehash? In the current West of Memphis, Amy Berg and her producers brought in new information that made a huge difference to the case itself.) At the very least, the filmmaker could have spent a few minutes on a precis of the case from both sides, even if he favored one of those sides. Instead we get, yes, absolutely nothing about it -- except that Amnesty International found it wanting, justice-wise. Great: Show us why.

The filmmaker's decision not to do this sinks what would otherwise have been a reasonably interesting, if repetitive movie full of glow-ing testimonials by everyone from Alice Walker and Angela Davis to Dick Gregory & Cornell West. Many of these are well-consider-ed and -spoken, but there are simply too many of them. After awhile, the movie, well-intentioned as it might be, begins to seems some sort of like a con job -- particularly given that the single thing we most want to get to the bottom of goes missing entirely.

Mr. Vittoria gives us some interesting history of the city of Philadelphia, in which "brotherly love" seems to not have been able to bridge the divide between races, and his history of Mumia's early life is worth seeing. Ditto his exploration of Mumia's career as a writer and journalist. There is plenty here that makes the movie worth a look, but the hole at its center is so staggeringly blatant and ill-conceived that it makes the documentary's execution a fumble for the record books. What a shame.

This story of a bright, articulate, talented man who may or may not have killed a police officer back in 1981 but is serving a life sentence for the deed deserves better. The one good thing that could come out of this is that the film might well send viewers back to the source material. Reading Mr. Abu-Jamal should be a healthy, salutary thing for many of us.

From First Run Features and sporting a way-too-long 120-minute running time, Mumia is available now on DVD for rental or sale from the usual suspects....

The photos above are all credited within that photo, 

except for the one of Mr. Vittoria, 

which is by Shannon Vittoria.

Stephen Vittoria's woefully misguided MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY

Imagine: A feel-good documentary about a guy on death row who gets his sentence lessened to life in prison! That's Mumia (the man, Mumia Abu-Jamal) and MUMIA: LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY, the new movie about him by filmmaker Stephen Vittoria. Unfortunately, there's a black hole in this project, the size of which could suck in one of the universes from yesterday's film, John Dies at the End. And the oddest thing is, Mr Vittoria has actually planned it that way. The below is from the press kit for the documentary: Unlike any other film about Mumia Abu-­‐Jamal, Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary does not deal with Mumia’s case but rather his work as a journalist prior to and after incarceration on Pennsylvania’s death row. “I wasn’t interested in re-­hashing the same polarizing standoff between those who want Mumia to fry and those who want him free,” Vittoria states.

Well, Mr. Vittoria, shown at left, may not be interested in re-hashing Mumia's court case, but his audience most definitely is. (And who says it has to be a rehash? In the current West of Memphis, Amy Berg and her producers brought in new information that made a huge difference to the case itself.) At the very least, the filmmaker could have spent a few minutes on a precis of the case from both sides, even if he favored one of those sides. Instead we get, yes, absolutely nothing about it -- except that Amnesty International found it wanting, justice-wise. Great: Show us why.

The filmmaker's decision not to do this sinks what would otherwise have been a reasonably interesting, if repetitive movie full of glow-ing testimonials by everyone from Alice Walker and Angela Davis to Dick Gregory & Cornell West. Many of these are well-consider-ed and -spoken, but there are simply too many of them. After awhile, the movie, well-intentioned as it might be, begins to seems some sort of like a con job -- particularly given that the single thing we most want to get to the bottom of goes missing entirely.

Mr. Vittoria gives us some interesting history of the city of Philadelphia, in which "brotherly love" seems to not have been able to bridge the divide between races, and his history of Mumia's early life is worth seeing. Ditto his exploration of Mumia's career as a writer and journalist. There is plenty here that makes the movie worth a look, but the hole at its center is so staggeringly blatant and ill-conceived that it makes the documentary's execution a fumble for the record books. What a shame.

This story of a bright, articulate, talented man who may or may not have killed a police officer back in 1981 but is serving a life sentence for the deed deserves better. The one good thing that could come out of this is that the film might well send viewers back to the source material. Reading Mr. Abu-Jamal should be a healthy, salutary thing for many of us.

From the usually more discerning First Run Features and sporting a way-too-long 120-minute running time, Mumia opens this Friday in New York City at the Cinema Village. In the weeks to come it will play ten more cities (one of which is in Canada). For all currently scheduled playdates, click here.

The photos above are all credited within that photo, 

except for the one of Mr. Vittoria, 

which is by Shannon Vittoria.