"How much does love have to hurt before it is not love?" is the question that plagues Antonio as the past demons of domestic violence resurface at the hands of his partner, Kirk. Antonio hides his physical and emotional pain from his all-knowing mother, Cynthia, who suffered such a tremendous amount of abuse at the hands of Antonio's father that Antonio became a nurse to heal pain that he could not heal as a child. Antonio is jolted out of his denial by one of his patients, Michelle , who is also, a frequent victim of domestic violence. While Michelle does not consider herself a victim, but as simply part of a couple that "loves hard and fight hard", a critical incident involving Michelle at the clinic forces Antonio to confront his own situation and reevaluate the "magic and tragic" of his life with Kirk before it is too late.
The “gay best friend”, an age-old trope, has been done in countless films and television series. Ranging from one-note (Sex and the City's Stanford and Mario) to nuanced (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss), the gay best friend exists to support and advise the main protagonist, with their conflicts swept to the side.
When the world lost Chadwick Boseman on August 28, 2020, we all saw the impact of representation in film. Boseman was not only a Black superhero leading a Black cast in one of the most successful films in history; but his successes paved the way for more, long-overdue diversity in Hollywood.
"WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE?!!!!" "EVERYTHING!!!!!" This is but one of a multitude of highly emphatic questions, and subsequent answers, being asked in the newest feature film from one of the current masters of horror, Jordan Peele ("Get Out", "Us" and "Nope"). I must give Peele credit in that he continues to push the boundaries of specific genres and their associated tropes in order to provide what ends up amounting to subtly then jarringly intense, yet still character and story-driven, cinema that speaks more to indie stylings than mainstream.
While the director didn't set out to make a feminist film, "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" reads as a reclamation of female power in a patriarchal society.
The 1950s lesbian romance is stunning, emotional, restrained, and, simply put, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen depicting a woman-loving-woman (WLW) relationship.
With a quirky outline, Project Hail Mary stays within the bounds of human language and imperial fantasy.
