Stephen Cone's PRINCESS CYD is joyful, genuine and, oh, so un-movie-like...

..and if that seems odd for TrustMovies to be congratulating a film for its un-movie-like appearance, so be it. There are times when you want the magic of movie-making (Wonderstruck is one such) and others when capturing characters of unusual reality and grace seems like the kind of miracle that you almost never see. So it is with PRINCESS CYD, the latest from writer/director Stephen Cone, who has already given us worthwhile films such as The Wise Kids and Henry Gamble's Birthday Party.

That latter movie had much of the good stuff that Cone's new one possesses -- the filmmaker is shown at left -- but toward its end it piled up incident so heavily that it suddenly descended into melodrama. There is none of that here, and his latest is all the better for that lack.

Instead we get a cast of characters who think, speak and act in ways that seem remarkably honest and real -- and yet at the same time so unaffected and unusually thoughtful that it is almost shocking to see them on the same movie screen that most often offers us stupid superheroes, over-the-top violence, and thoughtless, by-the-numbers action. Oh, and there's one more thing, too. We get some sex.

In Mr. Cone's world, however, sex is a fine, good thing, especially when it's accompanied by caring and thoughtful questioning about its importance and place in one's life.

The movie opens on a black screen, as we hear a 911 call being made. This lasts only moments, but it is enough to put us in a very dark place. But then we cut to a pretty young girl on a soccer field and a title card that reads "Nine Years Later." This quick, rather quiet set-up introduces us to the title character, played by a stunning and incandescent young actress named Jessie Pinnick, above, who is every bit as believable, if unusually poised, as she is beautiful.

Cyd has come to the Chicago area to escape a depressed dad and visit her aunt, played by another talented and beautiful (and a generation older) actress, Rebecca Spence (shown above), whom she has not seen for some years. The two bond a bit warily but hopefully, as they begin to simply "talk about" things. Mr. Cone's particular skill, I think, comes in writing dialog that flows naturally, even as it probes so many interesting areas and raises questions that linger in our (and his characters') minds and gently push us (and them) into further thinking and questioning.

Cone is never judgmental, nor are most of his people. His characters love reading, and in fact get together for occasional evenings at which they simply read to each other from their favorite texts. They're nicely diverse, too, without pushing the point. In fact, you'll wish you had more people like them in your own life.

When sexual desire and lust raise their attractive heads -- both straight and gay -- you'll root for the participants and enjoy their time together without ever feeling like you've leered or intruded. This is another of Cone's accomplishments. And this time, when the chance for melodrama and a heavy hand appears, he wisely and believably circumvents it. The fellow can tackle religion, too, and make even an agnostic reprobate like me listen and ponder a bit.

America -- hell, the world -- needs more of this kind of thing, but there are damned few filmmakers able or willing to create it. Mr. Cone is clearly stretching and growing. I hope we'll see a lot more of him and his work.

Meanwhile, Princess Cyd -- from Wolfe Releasing and running 96 minutes -- opens this Friday, November 3, in New York and Chicago, and then in Los Angeles on December 1. For those who want to get better acquainted with this filmmaker, from November 3-12, The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens will present "Talk About the Passion: Stephen Cone's First Act," which doubles as the NYC debut of his new film and an early career retrospective of his work (click here for the schedule). In Chicago, his new film will play the Gene Siskel Film Center, and in Los Angeles, it will open at Laemmle's Music Hall 3. More cities around the country? Not sure, but as Wolfe is releasing, a DVD debut is scheduled for early December. And maybe there'll be some streaming soon, as well.

HENRY GAMBLE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY: Religion and sexuality clash in Stephen Cone's new film

HENRY GAMBLE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY begins with some mutual masturbation by two friends, as one of them talks about the girl he wants to fuck. And the other boy? Well... he doesn't seem so interested in that girl. Turns out that both these adolescents, having a sleep-over, are quite religious (Christian fundamentalist variety), and tomorrow is the birthday of one of them: our hero, Henry Gamble.

The writer/director, Stephen Cone, shown at right, is especially adept at exploring the subtlety of relationships and how these are expressed -- those of the boys to each other and to their friends, particularly the one black kid in the midst of all these whites. (He is played with a nice mixture of inquisitiveness and care by Daniel Kyri, shown at center, below.)

Mr. Cone's dialog is smart and real, with all the exposition nicely buried within the off-hand speech and behavior, as well as in the situations that arise, most of them fraught yet somewhat hidden. Soon enough we see the hypocrisy of fundamentalist Christianity bubbling to the surface of things, as friends and neighbors congregate for the party of this very well-liked young man who is struggling with his own sexuality and how to express it.

The film is blessed with a cast of young and middle-aged actors who form such a fine ensemble that you feel they've known each other over a lifetime. So, for at least the first half of this 87-minute movie, incident barrels along and character grows.

In the leading role, Cole Doman (above and below) makes an auspicious debut, and the rest of the well-chosen cast is not far behind him.

But then Mr. Cone begins adding too much individual crises to the mix so that, very soon, melodrama sets in. This is not deadly -- the movie's still amusing and fun -- but it does take what initially seemed like a smart and realistic look at religion, family and sexuality and then turn it into something approaching soap opera, as too many heavy-duty changes occur too fast.

This is too bad because the first two-thirds of the film are quite fine (the ending, in fact, is lovely!). But the filmmaker can't quite negotiate the narrow strait he has created -- that birthday party -- because of all the sudden trauma on view. So intent is Cone on demonstrating how even a very religious family needs to find a way to encompass love, growth and open sexuality that he takes things just a little too far.

Henry Gamble's Birthday Party -- from Sunroom Pictures, in association with Chicago Media Project -- will open in New York at the IFP's Made in NY Media Center on January 8th, before expanding to additional markets and VOD platforms. (That's Elizabeth Laidlaw, above, who does a fine job playing Henry's gracious and caring mother.)