Sunday, June 17, 6:45 p.m. Castro
WEST COAST PREMIERE
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| 1985: Adrian (Cory Michael Smith) |
The setting is Fort Worth, Texas, Christmas 1985. Adrian (Cory Michael Smith, pictured) is home visiting his devoutly Christian parents and his younger brother Andrew for the first time in three years, since right after he graduated from college. He wrestles with coming out as gay and in the late stages of AIDS and tries to mend his relationship with Andrew, a budding theater queen in the making, trying to make peace with a family he knows he may never see again.
The story is especially resonant for me: I grew up in Dallas and am just three years younger than the main character. My best friend from 2nd grade was a budding theater queen who once lived right at the corner of Christopher and Gay in New York, less than a block from the site of the Stonewall Inn; he died of AIDS in 1984 at the age of 21. I was a bit less sexually precocious, I guess, so I knew about HIV and condoms and all that by the time I started experimenting. Had I been just three years older, my life might have taken a drastic turn down a much shorter road.
The performances are spot-on, delving into the emotional depths of the story but keeping a bit of humor to leaven it. The film was shot on actual black-and-white film, giving it a gorgeous luminance that digital just can’t replicate. It also gives a retro feel to the story and focuses the viewer’s attention on the characters, not the scenery, costumes, and so forth. It’s a poignant tribute to the people who died in the early days of AIDS and the loved ones they left behind. Definitely a MUST SEE.
• IMDb • official website • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @1985TheFilm •
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