Review of Eban and Charley (2000) by Dfw F — 15 Apr 2009

This movie's heart is in the right place, but its script is awkward enough that its believability comes and goes in fits and starts as it progresses. Eban begins by hitting on Charley quite blatantly in a way that would only be socially possible if he: a) had nearly omniscient gaydar or b) knew that the script was going to make Charley an androphile (young gay guy who likes older guys) anyways so there was no risk. I doubt the author meant to make Eban come across quite as creepy as he does at several points. Don't get me wrong; I don't ask that the ephebophile character be perfect -- if Eban is a complex character who has his problems, that's fine. But I just had the impression that some of his scenes were more clunkily written than deftly constructed to show his human fallibility.

Giovanni Andrade as Charley, however, saves the day by delivering a wonderfully nuanced performance of the young, cool gay teen with love in his heart. It's a study in acting to watch his eyes as he obliquely but forcefully invites Eban into his life; he has indescribable charm. It's a pity he doesn't have more to interact with as he takes on his cardboard caricature of a nasty dad prior to making his break for freedom with Eban.

The ending reminded me of E.M. Forster's novel Maurice, which also dealt with an illegal relationship by plotting an implausible escape from society. In Maurice, the two gay partners go to live off the land in the English forests, where presumably no one will remark on their relationship and have them sent to prison. In Eban and Charley, the two illegal lovers simply escape on the train to Seattle, even though Charley's father has already threatened to call the police. Well, Seattle isn't exactly Paraguay - we all know that in real life, Eban is in the slammer for 20 years and Charley is being worked over by psychiatrists. In the movie, though, seems to leave us imagining they are going to have the good life they deserve.

The courage of the filmmakers to put this movie together has to be applauded, though. If the script is inept at times and if it seems obvious that all the characters, even the straight ones, are played by LGBT actors, the fact is, with such a controversial topic, you're not always going to have access to the top level of cinematic excellence. Let's hope this movie paves the way for more expensive treatments of the same theme.