Streaming premiere for GLBT festival favorite, Jonah Greenstein's visually compelling puzzle, DEDALUS (aka DADDY)

Can a movie be interesting enough merely for its attractive visuals (not to mention its many sex scenes), even if the manner in which its three sections (barely) hang together is more than a tad confusing? On the basis of the 2018 movie DEDALUS (aka DADDY), it can. But at a cost. The press materials offer one explanation: The triptych portrays community, love and loss. Uh-huh, but you could say almost the same thing about maybe half the movies -- single, dip- or triptych -- currently making the rounds, and audiences might nod their assent, followed by: So what?

In any case, Dedalus is indeed a triptych, the writer/director/editor/co-cinematopher/colorist of which is Jonah Greenstein (shown at right). The first part of his film deals with a young woman in Iowa who is gang-raped, and the offspring she produces out of this situation. Part two finds an attractive male hustler -- who might or might not be the young-man version of that boy in part one -- and the older tricks he turns in order to get through winter in New York City. The final segment follows an old man in Los Angeles coming to terms with aging and failing.

Dedalus (which for some of us can't help but bring to mind the myth of Daedalus and Icarus) is, from the outset, visually enticing as it moves in all-over-the-place fashion from a jogger to a quiet man in his study to fireworks to bedtime. The first section contains little dialog, the second (by far the longest) offers much more, with the third somewhere between the first two, while the visuals -- color, composition and framing -- remain impressive in each.

The acting impresses, as well. Greenstein evidently used a combination of professionals and amateurs and has managed to nicely blur the line between them. (He also unfortnately declines to list which actor played which character in the credits, so attribution is rather difficult.) Most famous of these would be Thomas Jay Ryan (of Henry Fool, shown above, left), here playing one of our Part Two hero's sugar daddies who, much as he may want to, cannot commit to this young man who seems to love him so much. Mr. Ryan is, as always, fully commited to whatever performance he is giving and riveting to watch. The film's original Daddy title is certainly appropriate, as our young hustler does have plenty of daddy issues, just as the johns who hire him have their own themselves-as-daddy issues. 

The sex scenes are hot and graphic (one is full-frontal), and it pretty clear that, via its length and the interest that Greenstein shows in his subject and characters, this hustler-in-New-York section is the reason for the film's existence. Consequently the first and the third divisions/tales appear somewhat tacked-on. 

In addition to the aforementioned themes of  "community, love and loss," the movie might as easily be said to be built around childhood, young manhood and old age (or any number of other ideas tossed into the mix by th filmmaker).

So what is Dedalus, really? Thanks to its crisp and interesting visuals, not to mention the sex involved, those of us who appreciate these will be hooked. But what is this movie trying to say? I either haven't a clue or, thanks to the director's dropping so damned many of these, choosing among them seems arbitrary enough not to even matter all that much.

From First Run Features and lasting 92 minutes, the movie premiered earlier this week on streaming platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, OVID.tv & Kanopy. Click here to link to some of those streaming options.

Victimization/self-victimization in Matthew Wollin's puzzle movie, THE SKIN OF THE TEETH

The most interesting and weighty dialog exchange in THE SKIN OF THE TEETH, a new what-the-fuck's-going-on-here movie from writer/director Matthew Wollin, occurs when a would-be police officer refers to her charge as "you people." What do you mean by that? he responds: Gays, Blacks, or what? "I mean 'suspects'," she answers. And all of a sudden this very oddball movie is about victimhood. Or maybe self-victimization, since our non-hero, a black man by the name of Josef, seems to have pretty much brought this trauma upon himself.

Mr. Wollin, shown at left, is intent on mystifying us as much as he mystifies poor Josef, a fellow who goes on a Grindr-like date, immediately combs the bathroom of said date for possible drugs, finds some upstairs and takes a dose (even though he has no idea what it might contain) and then, after experiencing some woozy-making side effects, takes another dose for good measure.

He gets a whole lot more than he bargained for.

Josef is played by Pascal Arquimedes (above, left, on poster and below), while his seemingly wealthy/ gourmet chef/spying-on-his-neighbors-with-their-consent hook-up is essayed by Donal Brophy, who is shown at bottom, right.

The movie is being compared to a combination of Get Out and the aforementioned Grindr, neither of which really computes. Get Out was more entertaining and even, oddly enough, more believable. Grinder usually results in some sex, while this film has no nudity, let alone a sex scene.

What it does have is puzzlement, a certain amount of which is enticing and fun. One character will become another, simply by wearing a mask (as above), or by being played by an entirely different actor, as though maybe no one will notice. In this sense, the movie is more in-your-face transgressive than anything else.

But what is it really about? You got me. It's short enough (79 minutes) that you may go along for the ride in any case, especially if you're given to films that prove intentional puzzles with no easy (or even difficult) answer.

TrustMovies enjoys a good puzzle, and while he doesn't always require answers, he does expect a bit more actual content than this movie -- which seems mostly interested in provoking us (and Josef) -- provides. And please, people: don't think for a moment that you are getting here a remake of that great Thornton Wilder play, The Skin of Our Teeth. That will result in major disappointment.

From TLA Releasing, The Skin of the Teeth opens theatrically in New York City this Friday, May 10, at the Cinema Village. Elsewhere? Don't know of any other playdates, but the DVD for the film will be available come next Tuesday, May 14.

Kelly Macdonald quietly dazzles in Turtletaub, Mann and Moverman's remake, PUZZLE

I was blown away by the Argentine film, Puzzle, written and directed by first-timer by Natalia Smirnoff, when it was first released in the USA back in 2011, and though it never crossed my mind that the film needed remaking in English, now that PUZZLE is here -- directed by Marc Turtletaub with a screenplay by Polly Mann and Oren Moverman -- I must admit that the new version is almost as good -- hell, maybe every bit as good -- as the original.

Mr. Turtletaub, shown at left, is best known as a producer with some major winners under his belt, but he has done quite a fine job in this -- his second full-length directorial stint -- of bringing to life a small-scale tale of a subdued and somewhat cowed housewife named Agnes who discovers that she has a penchant for solving jigsaw puzzles at a very fast pace.

Turtletaub and his writers are helped no end by their leading performer, perhaps the most under-sung top-notch actress working today: Kelly Macdonald (shown below), who is simply so perfect in this role that her every moment resonates, each one bringing us closer to fully understanding this unusual woman, even as she begins to better understand herself and her (so far) unrequited needs.

Agnes is mother/wife to two nearly-grown kids and a kindly-if-old-fashioned husband (the terrifically real and moving David Denman below) who genuinely loves his wife but hasn't a clue to what's going on inside her. One of the great strengths of the movie (as was true of the original version) is that, though its main concern lies with the wife and her growth/change, it is able to view the husband (and to some extent the children) with the kind of care and empathy that has you rooting for them all.

It has been a few years since I've seen the original film, but as I recall the character of our heroine's puzzle partner was a stronger, more complete one in the original. Here, as played as well as the script permits by Irrfan Khan (below, left), that character is reduced somewhat. This matters less than you might expect, however, because the film is so much more focused on Agnes and her family.

Ms Macdonald charts Agnes' inner journey so well and with such specificity that we're with her entirely -- even when, on occasion, she's unfair to those around her. Growth and change come at a price and not always so easily, and the film honors this idea, as well.

Suburban life for a woman who has known only family, friends and church is made unusually clear here; breaking free into new ideas and activities has seldom seemed as invigorating, too. And if you imagine that Puzzle is going to come down to the usual choice by a woman between one man or another, the movie is too genuinely feminist and too concerned with real growth and change to make things that simple.

This is one of the best films of the year -- as was the original in its own year -- and it deserves as wide a viewership as possible. And Ms Macdonald, giving the best performance I've seen all year, deserves an Oscar -- or at very least a nomination.

From Sony Pictures Classics and running 103 minutes, Puzzle, after hitting major cities over the past few weeks, opens here in South Florida this Friday, August 10. In the Miami area, it will play the AMC Aventura 24; in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters, Cinemark Palace 20 and the Regal Shadowood 16; at the Cinemark 14 in Boynton Beach; the Cinemark Paradise 24 in Davie; at the Silverspot Cinema, Coconut Creek; at the Movies of Delray; and in Fort Lauderdale at the Classic Gateway 4. Wherever you live across the country, to find a theater near you, click here (then click on GET TICKETS on the right side of your screen).

Sebastian Gutierrez's genre-mashing, what's-going-on-here? delight, ELIZABETH HARVEST

For TrustMovies, one of the things that distinguishes a Sebastian Gutierrez film is how downright enjoyable it always is. His movies, no matter the genre, are just plain fun to see and hear. Several of his films, as both writer and director, are ensemble comedies of connection (Women in Trouble, Girl Walks Into a Bar), though he also ventured into would-be arty neo-noir (Hotel Noir) and even the horror genre (Rise: Blood Hunter).

Gutierrez's latest to hit theaters is a bizarre mystery puzzle entitled ELIZABETH HARVEST, which is simultaneously a very nice addition to the mash-up genre of sci-fi/horror/thriller. Once again, as with all of this filmmaker's work (Gutierrez is shown below), it proves to be enormous fun.

From its opening scene, in which a polished and very wealthy older man (the spot-on Ciáran Hinds) brings his new young bride (the lovely Abbey Lee) to his rather spectacular modern mansion and, during her tour of the premises, explains that she now owns and should feel comfortable with everything and in every room of the house -- except one -- the viewer's "Bluebeard" antennae will immediately start to wiggle. As they should.

But, oh my goodness, don't even begin to imagine that you have figured things out. That is it, so far as my spilling any "plot" beans is concerned. I will simply suggest that you stick with this movie for a wonderfully wild, visually enticing and often shocking/funny ride in which things are exactly as -- and then nothing like -- you expect.

Even the mention of a few other movies to which this one owes some thanks might spoil things, so I shall keep my mouth closed and fingers halted and concentrate instead on the performances. Mr. Hinds (above, left, and below, right) is as good as we now always expect him to be: particularly classy and rather scary, too.

Ms Lee (above, left and further above, right), with her model-slim figure and beautiful face, at first seems a tad too inexpressive. But, as the film moves on, she grows and changes -- for reasons the viewer learns almost at the same time as does her character. This is hardly an easy "role," but the actress not only takes it and runs with it, in fact, she crosses the finish line in rather remarkable fashion.

Supporting  roles (except they are hardly that; more like secondary leads, really) of the mansion's butler and maid are played by Matthew Beard (above) and Carla Gugino (below). The latter, having played in almost all of the Gutierrez's films, seems like something of a muse to the writer/director. Both actors are excellent, in Mr Beard's case, turning on a dime until we can hardly keep up with this character or what he wants.

TrustMovies often complains about the manner in which certain filmmakers choose to use exposition. Well, here, Gutierrez piles it on so heavily -- visually and verbally, using dialog, diaries, flashback and more -- during the second half of the film that it may just take your breath away. Yet, he does it all with such good humor and wit that it actually adds to the enjoyment to be had.

As I say, what goes on here, as sometimes bloody and naughty as it gets, never ceases to be great and increasing fun. And just about the time that you imagine things can't possibly get any crazier.....

From IFC Films and running 105 minutes, the movie opens this Friday, August 10, in New York City (at the IFC Center) and Los Angeles (at the Arena Cinelounge Sunset). If you're not located on either coast, no worries: The film will simultaneously open via VOD.

In the loop: Gareth Tunley's compelling puzzler, THE GHOUL, arrives on Blu-ray/DVD

A knockout -- even if it may leave you more puzzled going out than you were going in -- THE GHOUL, a movie written and directed by Gareth Tunley so consistently genre-jumping that it's probably sui generis, proves a kind of enigmatic mystery-thriller with over/undertones of everything from the occult to a master class in psychology. Think Repulsion meets... oh, hell, comparisons are pretty useless here. Just watch and wonder. And enjoy. Whatever your opinion at film's end, you'll be hooked throughout and thoroughly enjoying yourself, TrustMovies suspects.

The name most bandied about in the film's advertising is that of Ben Wheatley, who acted as executive producer. And why not -- since his is the most famous of anyone connected with the movie? Yet this is quite unfair, as the movie is better than literally anything Mr. Wheatley has so far accomplished. If any justice remains in the movie world, we shall be hearing from Mr. Tunley (shown at left) again and again.

What this filmmaker has done is to give us the movie equivalent of a Möbius strip or an M.C. Escher drawing. And yet The Ghoul is no mere stunt (or if it is, it's one of the better stunts in film history). It is also a living breathing, beautifully conceived, executed, written, directed and acted tale of... what?

That is the question that will dog you as you watch. The possible answers are plenteous, with character dissolution and/or the take-over of one person's mind and actions by another the most prominent. Our leading man, Chris, played by the unforgettable Tom Meeten (shown above and below) is the film's central character, and he is on-screen for practically the entire movie. Mr. Meeten possesses a face and a body that manage to be, by turns, dowdy, handsome, plain, sexy, riven, graceful, graceless, and always compelling.

The movie is Chris's journey, and Meeten makes it -- thanks to camerawork (Benjamin Pritchard) that consistently finds the right subject and view and editing (which seems to be divided amongst several folk) that couples all this with precision and speed -- something from which you cannot avert your gaze. As writer and director, the filmmaker provides smart detail after detail in the foreground, background, and via the strange and varied cast of supporting characters that makes that journey utterly riveting.

The plot make perfect sense. For awhile. From the opening scene, in which we learn of a bizarre double murder to the penultimate one that provides a kind of climax that explains (and yet maybe doesn't) all that has gone before, Mr. Tunley is able in something like 85 minutes to bring us full circle and yet keep us going even farther (afield).

Along the way we meet a would-be girlfriend (Alice Lowe, two photos up), a bizarre best friend (James Eyers, above), a therapy companion (Rufus Jones, below, right), and especially a couple of very strange but interesting therapists (beautifully brought to life by Niamh Cusack and Geoffrey McGivern) who, together, bring the movie its most unsettling blend of kind, charming compassion and utter manipulation.

There is even an oddball character (Paul Kaye, below) whose entire job in the movie, it seems, is simply to tell a most interesting and funny shaggy-dog story. What drives the film forward (and may simultaneously drive you nuts) is how believable everything seems. Until it is clear that -- yes? no! -- something quite else is wrong here. Still, we and Chris persevere until we've reached... ummm, you'll see. What you'll make of it all is up for grabs.

On the Blu-ray disc's Special Features is a delightful short film featuring the director and much of his cast -- all of who, it tuns out, are comedians known for their character-driven, stand-up comedy routines. Considering that The Ghoul may be one of the most dour, dark creations ever to hit video, this seems particularly intriguing. It's like that clown who so wants to play Hamlet (and then does it damned well) -- times ten.

From Arrow Video and released here in the USA via MVD Entertainment, The Ghoul arrived on Blu-ray (in a fine transfer) and DVD last week, and is available now for purchase and/or (I hope) rental. For folk who demand something different, compelling and lots of fun, this one's a don't-miss deal.

Afghanistan meets Northern California in Ian Olds' oddball tale, BURN COUNTRY

A fish-way-out-of-water story, BURN COUNTRY -- the first full-length narrative film from Ian Olds -- proves better at enticing us in than it does fulfilling its promise once we become involved in the tale. And yet that may be part (maybe the whole point) of the tale: How very strange it is to try to enter and then correctly appraise the world of people you barely know, who may, in fact, not want you in their world, after all. That is the situation of our protagonist, a young Afghan fellow named Osman (played very well by Dominic Rains, shown below).

Osman worked, expertly it seems, as a translator for a U.S. journalist whose beat is in the middle east, and because of this has been given asylum in the United States. He is now located in the backwoods of Northern California, visiting/living with the mother of that journalist (the fine Melissa Leo, shown below) and expecting to find a job at the local newspaper.

That job works out, sort of, but not in the manner Osman was expecting, and little by little he meets the townsfolk and becomes involved in some very bizarre doings: arson, beatings, a disappearance and a possible murder. Exactly what happens, along with how and why, we piece together haltingly, just as Osman himself must do, and the biggest strength of Mr. Olds' movie (the filmmaker is shown at bottom) is that we see and know only what Osman himself learns about this whole mess.

Along the way, Osman sees his first sight of the ocean and a beach, gets involved with a pretty young woman (Rachel Brosnahan, in the penultimate photo, below) and her rather bizarre acting instructor, and meets, gets beaten up and then befriended by a guy named Lindsay (James Franco, below and further below, doing another good job in full-out weirdo mode).

More and more bizarre and unsettling do things appear until we and Osman are ready to think the very worst of America's small towns (and why not, as these people apparently elected the asshole of all time to become the next American President?).

Things do sort themselves out. Sort of. Which leaves us even more unsettled -- with only some understanding of what has just transpired. One of the townsfolk lets us and Osman know that, in this a particular area of the country, everything is eventually forgiven. Well, OK.

Meanwhile, Osman has been in touch via phone with his journalist mentor along the way, and the final scene -- a quiet beauty of a few moments -- should make viewers appreciate Afghanistan in a manner we would never have expected.

While I cannot wholeheartedly recommend Burn Country, except to an audience who especially appreciates the intentionally unclear/ambivalent, there is certainly enough here to mull over, chew and maybe even digest. In the cast are stalwarts like Thomas Jay Ryan, too, so that's a plus, while Mr. Rains, who won a Tribeca Festival Best Actor Award delivers in fine form.

From Samuel Goldwyn Films and Orion Pictures, the movie, running 102 minutes, opens this Friday, December 9, in Los Angeles at the Laemmle's Monica Film Center. Elsewhere? No idea. But as it will simultaneously play VOD in most major markets, if you want to view it, I am sure you'll be able to find it.

July's Sunday Corner With Lee Liberman -- PUZZLES: When Hate Came to Town

A puzzle ends in a rainbow 

When economic pain is widely felt, hate crimes result -- 250,000 annually. The 53 minute documentary, PUZZLES, by Tami Gold and David Pavlovsky of Hunter College, NYC, is a small engrossing tale of the collision between poverty and homophobia in the charming coastal town of New Bedford, MA, a once-upon-a-time rich whaling and industrial hub. In February of 2006, the mixed gay and straight bar Puzzles suffered a hatchet and gun attack by a troubled youth on 3 bar patrons, shaking the community from top to bottom. (The perpetrator fled the attack scene and died by his own hand 3 days later in Missouri, having killed two others.)

You can smell the salt and the sea, tread the cobblestones, and witness the faded industrial past of this now blue-collar, rough-hewn, but engaging small city that has fallen from its heyday but remains close-knit and resilient. The filmmakers take you there.

The voices of a middle-age victim of Jacob Robida, the hatchet-wielding 18-year-old perpetrator, members of his teen gang, the Juggalos, and both gay and straight patrons of the bar Puzzles immerse you intimately into the ugliness of the attack and its ripple effect on the community.

It may seem that the film will focus only on the personal stories of the traumatized attack victims, bar patrons, and bereaved teens shocked by the violent act of their friend, Jacob, but the filmmakers spend the right amount of time on the reparative work done in New Bedford -- the fight back via words and community action. Special efforts by political leaders, police, schools, and the advent of Gay Pride events (above and below) have begun to heal wounds and improve harmony in the city. One bar patron explains that the event helped make things right for gay people in town who began to stop hiding. It is thought that 75% of gay residents were closeted at the time. Bob Perry, one of the 3 victims, had come out only a month before the attack at age 47.

The bar, Puzzles, and its successor, Rainbow's End, have since closed, but ten years later New Bedford has a different social climate. Bev Baccelli, a gay activist in the film from nearby Mattapoisett, commented to SouthCoastToday on the 10th anniversary of the attack: "Out of a tragedy like Puzzles, as horrifying as it was, comes change.....Gay people and straight people started talking to each other. Is it a perfect place?...No, but it's a lot better than...10 years ago."

PUZZLES is about as complete, poignant, and meaningful a story of hate and its consequences as 53 minutes allow, but it's worth referencing here to former openly gay House of Representatives members, Barney Frank and Gary Studds, (the latter deceased in 2006), both of whom represented New Bedford in Congress at different times; Frank and Studds add to the picture of a community not innately homophobic but subject to the pressures of poverty and hate propaganda.

Following the recent attack on gay bar Pulse in Orlando and to mark the 2016 anniversary of the Puzzles event, filmmaker and Hunter College faculty member Tami Gold has made available a free link to the documentary through July. So you can stream this film with no charge through the end of July, simply by clicking here.

The above post was written by 

our monthly correspondent, Lee Liberman