You know, if you don't have a good script you don't have a chance of ending up with a good movie. The exposition in this film is way long and is filled with flat dialog and cardboard characters. The "plot twist", which did surprise me, was unfulfilling because there is never a point in the story where any suspense, or empathy for the characters, is built up. If you blink you will miss Steve Buscemi and Campbell Scott, who are both very good for the short time they appear.
It really is a shame because the plot is very intriguing: two men reunite, former lovers in the Navy, whose relationship ended when the more closeted one at the time joined in with other sailors in gay bashing the other to cover for himself. While I wouldn't presume to suggest "how" to write a screenplay around this story, I would say don't do it this way. It was like watching paint dry. Paint that's a color you don't particularly like.
The story ends without forgiveness or resolution, which in and of itself is not a bad way to end. But, if you never developed an interest in the characters, their struggles, or the story itself, that it remains unresolved is just one more sour note on top of all the others.
As compelling as this story is on paper, it was delivered with such detachment and hack dialog that it really just comes off as a wasted opportunity. How they got Steve Buscemi, Campbell Scott, and John Savage, to board this nose dive is inexplicable. I wish it had been good. I really do...
It really is a shame because the plot is very intriguing: two men reunite, former lovers in the Navy, whose relationship ended when the more closeted one at the time joined in with other sailors in gay bashing the other to cover for himself. While I wouldn't presume to suggest "how" to write a screenplay around this story, I would say don't do it this way. It was like watching paint dry. Paint that's a color you don't particularly like.
The story ends without forgiveness or resolution, which in and of itself is not a bad way to end. But, if you never developed an interest in the characters, their struggles, or the story itself, that it remains unresolved is just one more sour note on top of all the others.
As compelling as this story is on paper, it was delivered with such detachment and hack dialog that it really just comes off as a wasted opportunity. How they got Steve Buscemi, Campbell Scott, and John Savage, to board this nose dive is inexplicable. I wish it had been good. I really do...