It’s always interesting to me to watch the earlier work of an award-winning moviemaker. In this case, the winner in question is Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for Milk. Black wrote and directed this very low budget movie about a young man who leaves Georgia for (where else?) Los Angeles. It’s an admirable first try but in my opinion does not foreshadow his later work. Part of the problem is the production values. The sound is muffled at times and the dialog can be difficult to understand. The use of hand-held cameras throughout the movie is tiresome at first and then irritating. Another problem is the amateurish acting. Although the young man who plays Jared Price (Corey Spears) is easy on the eyes, a thespian he ain’t. But the basic problem with this movie is much larger than the acting, production values or low budget. The problem is that unlike Harvey Milk who was a fascinating, complex, and compelling human being, Jared Price is a dull and one-dimensional character. Who cares? I sure didn’t.
Two Stars out of Five
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