Review of 1985 (2018) by Alan W — 14 Jan 2019

Heavily influenced by 80s queer indie cinema and in particular films like Parting Glances or Longtime Companion, director/co-writer Yen Tan shot this in black and white and on a shoestring budget, often with slightly stilted or awkward dialogue and static camerawork.

Cory Michael Smith (Gotham) is a young closeted gay man who has escaped his conservative and religious family in Texas for New York, now returning home for the Christmas holidays with a suitcase of expensive gifts and secrets he wants to share but is hesitant to reveal.

With a cast that also includes Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis and Jamie Chung, either Tan has an amazing phonebook or it's a passion project for those involved. Even though the story itself is nothing I have not seen before, it is a commendable and well constructed film that's full of subtle performances and fits perfectly in the niche market that it seeks to serve.

Therefore, it seems somewhat superfluous for a film that wears that genre label so proudly, to be so coy in the first half about the lead character's sexuality as if it was setting up a twisty surprise.

In fact, more surprising are the ways the film deals with the parents played by Madsen and Chiklis, who deliver quietly moving and poignant moments in separate pivotal scenes. It may have been more special, groundbreaking even, if this was made in 1985, but for 2019, it certainly feels a little more ordinary and old-hat now.