This week a trio of noteworthy independent films are making their Chicago debuts. Two of them—C.O.G. and Four—have prominent queer themes while the third is from out documentarian Ky Dickens, who follows her critically lauded debut Fish out of Water with Soul Survivor.
C.O.G. stars out actor Jonathan Groff (Taking Woodstock, TV's Glee and the forthcoming gay-themed HBO series Looking) as Samuel, a rather pretentious Yale grad student who decides to go "off the grid" and takes a job picking apples in an orchard in Oregon. Samuel's smug superiority is lost on the migrant workers he bunks with and he's taken down a peg by the boss (Dean Stockwell), who eventually finds him a job at the local apple harvesting factory. There, he's noticed by a leering forklift operator named Curly (Corey Stoll), who invites him out for what becomes the date from hell. The terrorized Samuel ends up befriending Jon (Denis O'Hare), a born-again Christian with an explosive temper he can barely contain and helps him create objects for an upcoming art fair. But soon, Samuel, whose arrogance has been whittled away by his various encounters, is in trouble again.
Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez has based his film on an autobiographical piece by gay essayist David Sedaris from the latter's collection Naked. The film has the distinction of being the first to be based on Sedaris' writings but the episodic quality of the material and the oddball characters are familiar staples to indie movie audiences and Sedaris' patented mix of wry wit and character insight don't really translate from page to screen. Rather, it's the performances of the actors—especially O'Hare and Stoll—that are the most notable elements in the movie. Groff is best in a later encounter with the terrifying Curly to which he brings unexpected depth and in his brief encounters with several of the film's supporting characters. The movie, which has had a splashy run on the gay film fest circuit over the last year, opens on Friday, Sept. 20, at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State St.). www.siskelfilmcenter.com
Another LGBT film fest staple (this one from 2012) is Four, which out writer-director Joshua Sanchez adapted from Christopher Shinn's play. The movie follows the course of two random hook-ups during a hot Fourth of July night in a nameless urban city—between a married, middle-aged, closeted Black man named Joe (Wendell Pierce) and a young white teenage boy he has met over the Internet and the man's daughter and her new hunky Latino boyfriend, Dexter. The encounters between the two nascent couples are fraught with an undertow of loneliness and anxiety that is palpable and though the dialogue reveals its stage play roots, the performances overcome this. Pierce, especially, is adept at projecting Joe's complicated nature. The provocative film kicks off a Chicago theatrical run at AMC River East 21 beginning Friday, Sept. 20. www.fourthemovie.com .
Ky Dickens—the Chicago-based filmmaker (see my interview with Dickens in this week's Windy City Times) noted for her 2009 documentary Fish out of Water, which put the Bible's seven references to homosexuality under the microscope—returns with Sole Survivor, a thought-provoking documentary that is also playing at the Siskel on Sept. 20 and 26. Dickens' film centers on four of the just 14 sole survivors of large-scale airplane disasters—whom she aptly describes as members of "the loneliest club on earth."
George Lamson, who survived an air disaster at 17, becomes the linking device for the film. Lamson, who is glimpsed in vintage footage, is outwardly gregarious but has clearly been through years of emotional trauma. Dickens follows Lamson and his daughter as they travel to France to meet a young teenage survivor named Bahia, whose few words speak volumes. (As a filmmaker, she shows welcome restraint in these and other encounters in the film, never pushing the emotional envelope.)
Jim Polehinke, a co-pilot of another horrific crash, has survived with both tremendous physical and emotional challenges, and Dickens presents his story—and the subsequent investigation into the crash—with an even hand. Her fourth subject is Cecelia Cichan, who was a baby when she survived and was raised in anonymity.
The film marks the first time all but Lamson have spoken about their continuing ordeals as sole survivors. Again, Dickens shows restraint and allows her subjects to maintain their dignity as they haltingly and emotionally attempt to describe what so few can truly understand. With Sole Survivor, Dickens has made a compelling follow-up to Fish Out of Water, that is elevated by its sensitive approach to its potentially sensationalistic subject matter. www.solesurvivorfilm.com
Film notes:
—Support your local queer film festival: Tonight, Wed., Sept. 18, Ald. Rey Colon will appear at a meeting organized by community/queer activist Robert Castillo with Logan Square-area business owners who are gathering to show their support for Reeling, Chicago's LGBT film festival which is coming to Logan Square for the first time in its 31-year history.
Reeling's executive director, Brenda Webb and myself, this year's director of programming for the fest, will be on hand to present an overview of the forthcoming fest. The meet-and-greet will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Logan Theater, 2646 N. Milwaukee Ave.—the primary venue for this year's Reeling (Nov. 7-14). The public is welcome to attend this complimentary event. The following week on Wed. Sept. 25, "Reeling in the Aisles," a benefit for the festival, will take place at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., 7-9 p.m. During the evening, which will feature a selection of rarely seen queer movie clips, a complimentary drink and door prizes, the line-up for this year's festival will be announced. The Queer Film Society is co-sponsoring the event. www.reelingfilmfestival.org
—Support your local filmmaker: Writer/director John Lerchen, a Columbia College film major, has finished shooting his first indie feature, Dearest Jane. The movie, which is described as a romantic drama tells the story of a troubled teen sent to live with her gay uncle in the isolated Indiana countryside, is seeking post production report via a kickstarter campaign. A 2014 release is anticipated. www.dearestjane.com
—Free screening: The Chicago Cinema Society and Fangoria are presenting a free screening of director Eduardo Rodriguez's Fright Night 2: New Blood on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. at the Patio Theater, 6008 W. Irving Park Rd. From the looks of the trailer, the film appears to utilize characters and situations from the 1985 original while giving them a much different spin than the 2011 remake (for instance, Gerry, the vampire played by Chris Sarandon and Colin Farrell, respectively, becomes a sexy seductress named Gerri in this version who appears to have some pretty strong lesbian inclinations to boot). Doors for the screening are at 7:30 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. chicagocinemasociety.org
—Director Steven Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, his darkly comic look at the relationship between Vegas entertainer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorsen was one of HBO's biggest hits of the year. The movie, which features fearless, Emmy-nominated performances by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the leading roles, and excellent support from Debbie Reynolds, Rob Lowe, Dan Ackroyd and Cheyenne Jackson is just out on Blu-ray and DVD and includes a making-of featurette.
