The Stranger In Us [DVD]

Rapael Barker [ he of the marvelous Shortbus] is in another gem . He plays Anthony who moves from a small town to san francisco . We see how the city gradually changes him and how he is drawn to those who wander the streets. Sexy, sad and although not that fast moving , kept me on the edge . Lovely movie , not at all sleezy .

Lovely done. Loved both the scriptwriting as well as the acting. We were quite impressed by Adam David's acting. He looks both sad and sexy, strong and so vulnerable. The ease with which he seems to do so seems rather promising for what is still to come...

This tells the story of Anthony (Raphael Barker) who has met a guy in the shape of Stephen (Scott Cox) and has decided to upsticks from Virginia and travel to the gay Mecca that is San Francisco and live with his new boyfriend. Anthony is an `aspiring poet' and so therefore unemployed so is virtually dependent on Stephen. Whilst things go well at first Stephen has past issues that have caught up with him and he is a classic case of having to hurt the ones you love.

His violent and possessive swings in mood mean that before too long it is impossible for Anthony to remain. The story is told in flash back and has a time line that appears at the bottom of the screen to ensure you are not missing the importance of exactly when things are happening. We see how Anthony has so much to learn from the big city and he befriends Gavin (Adam David) a seventeen year old run away and street wise hustler. They form a bond that is more caring than the one he has/had with Stephen. Along the way there is a host of characters that bring the story to life.

This is a slow paced film with a minimalist approach to film making. I can not remember any background music for instance. There is extensive use of the shaky camera approach which always lends itself to realism/docudrama. But it also goes some way to making a somewhat drab scene be filled with more animation. This, as a device, is used to great effect as part of this story is the crushing loneliness of being in a big city where the one person you thought you knew and could trust, turns out to be a controlling egomaniacal bully (that is not a plot spoiler by the way). There are some very awkward scenes and the need for true friendship is at the core of the tale.

This is not a sex fest either, there are a number of bed room `grunting' scenes but it is actually done in a realistic yet surprisingly tasteful way. Also all of the actors come across (no pun intended) as being very real, they actually have body hair, which makes a pleasant change (unless its one of those rare `bear' movies that is). Even though this is slow paced, there is enough drama to keep you hooked and actually want to know what happens next. It also avoids all of the movie clichés both in terms of the relationship narrative and the whole street hustler thing too. So as a debut effort from writer and director Scott Boswell I feel he has done an outstanding job. If you are a fan of gay and moreover independent cinema then this is one you will want to see - recommended.