CRUSH

Director: Michael J. Saul
Stars: Stephen Tyrone Williams, Sean Edwards, Nick Endres, Rob Westin, Jorge Diaz, Marc Siciliani, Dennis Yeap, Kyle Fain
Year: 2009
Rating: N/R

I was fortunate enough to find the trailer for this sweet 2009 independent film (due for release on DVD in April 2010) online, quite by accident, and emailed director Michael J. Saul for a screener for the express purpose of reviewing the film for this blog. That was how much the trailer got to me, and I'm glad to say the film lives up to the promise of the preview; Crush is an effective take on various stages and stories of gay romantic love ... with just enough sensuality to keep things down to earth, as well.

Michael J. Saul tells four stories here, each about twenty minutes or so in length, and the first - "Don't Ask" - deals with the struggle of a young interracial couple, Cameron (Stephen Tyrone Williams) and James (Sean Edwards), who have been together for four years ... even if much of that time has been spent with Cameron overseas fighting in the war. The short film opens with Cameron on a short leave, where he both re-establishes his love and home with James, as well as fends off a war protester in a local bar, who insists on knowing why he continues to fight for an unnecessary war. "Don't Ask" concentrates more on the relationship of the two men, who strive to get in as much time as they can together before Cameron's deployment, and though the film seemed a little on the short side for me, for the mood it was trying to create, what I loved about it was the simple idea it conveyed to viewers: that gay men love just as deeply, and hurt just as much, as anyone else when they send their loved ones back to war, living in fear of whether that person will ever again return. It's a touching tale with no real resolution - much like in the real lives of those in similar situations today.

"Bloodline" opens with a young, cute guy named Gerald (Rob Westin) - a goth boy with pale skin and dark eyeliner - who finally confronts the handsome Asian guy in his class, Christian (Nick Endres), whom he feels has been eyeing him for too long. Goading him into making a move at last, Gerald learns very quickly that Christian is, indeed, interested in him - and that the tall, sensual, good-looking guy also happens to be a vampire. The two become an item, but naturally have to hide not only their relationship but Christian's even-bigger secret from the world ... even as Gerald contemplates where their future together lies, in a short that I only wish had gone on a bit longer; while Westin and Endres are both very convincing and affecting as new lovers (Endres, in particular, doing a terrific job playing the tragic yet sensual kind of vampire Brad Pitt did so well in Interview with the Vampire), I found myself wishing that the film had had more time to devote to the building of their relationship - though, in the end, you can most definitely see where things are going.

The third tale - "Strokes" - is a well-written tale of hero worship that works beautifully, thanks to a great script and a particularly effective performance by actor Jorge Diaz. Diaz - handsome as hell and more than vaguely resembling Mario Lopez, only Diaz's acting chops are sharper - plays art student Michael Lopez, a college kid who has just had the immense good fortune of landing an internship with a painter whose work he's admired all his life, the reclusive and eccentric Robert Brooks (Marc Siciliani). Lopez is soon in for a rude awakening, however, when he learns that Brooks is also somewhat of a prick; a true genius on canvas who treats those around him either like minions or dirt (or both), and soon shatters Michael's hero worship feelings ... even as his aggressive behavior and sheer talent turns Michael on sexually like he's never been turned on before. Siciliani, the irascible painter Robert Brooks, does an excellent job in this piece, fully making you believe in his character - but the film really gives Jorge Diaz a chance to shine, as he creates a complex and wholly believable character viewers will both sympathize with and root for.

And lastly, there is "Breathe" - the fourth and most touching of the stories, beautifully written and narrated by director Michael J. Saul. Identifiable with anyone who ever fell in love for the first time as a teenager, "Breathe" stars Dennis Yeap as a quiet, keeps-to-himself young gay teen who happens to be in love with the most beautiful, popular boy in the school, played by Kyle Fain. Told without dialogue (but, instead, with lyrical voice-over narration throughout by Saul, as Yeap's character), the film chronicles the absolute ache of the main character, as he falls in love with the perfect boy - then has to deal with the extra pain of having the boy's parents become friends with his, so that the two teenagers are thrown together on a camping trip ... Yeap's character so in love, it hurts to even be in the presence of his object of desire. Saul himself, in an interview found on the DVD extras, admits that "Breathe" is very much autobiographical - based, in fact, on his own experience of falling in love as a boy - and the emotional punch is there throughout the entire film, in the visceral writing Saul infuses the images with, as well as the heart-on-his-sleeve intensity (again, with no dialogue) that young Yeap gives to his angst-ridden character ... as Fain's golden boy remains (seemingly) blissfully unaware of his new-found friend's feelings for him (Fain will be many the object of crushes from those who watch this film; he truly is a beauty). "Breathe" is nothing short of a masterpiece, containing some of the most heartfelt, genuine writing I have ever seen in a film dealing with the innocence and heartbreak of first love, and if the other three stories in this anthology had all sucked beans (and they don't), "Breathe" alone makes the DVD a must-purchase - particularly for any gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person with an ounce of romance in his or her soul.

Crush works on many levels. And even if a bit uneven, each of the short films included shines a different kind of light on gay love today. More importantly, for those not gay and viewing the film, it should also shed some light on the fact that love IS love, no matter the gender of those doing the loving. The fact that Saul has put together a young, very talented interracial cast of young actors for each short film also speaks of the fact that race matters as little as gender ... when, as the Beatles so aptly said, "love is all you need." A beautiful film. **** - Reel Awesome