Customer Reviews

Between Love & Goodbye

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I agree that this film is not a typical feel good movie. But for the people giving it a low rating, I think you missed the point. Life isn't always pretty as it happens, and the way that life happened in this film was pretty real.

I watched this movie in its entirety just because I HAD to see how it turned out. I was not disappointed: the ending was as unbelievable and disagreeable as the rest of the film. Films like this give gay cinema a bad name, not to mention gays in general. It is a portrayal of the most self-centered, thoughtless, hateful group of people, who happen to be gay, you have ever seen on screen or off.

The story centers around a young French gay actor who wants to stay in the US with his lover. He does so by marrying a lesbian friend, but to no avail. Their relationship, superficial and trite at best, is poisoned by the interventions of the American's sister, a transsexual who has switched sides surgically and mentally several times too often. He/she can't stand it that his/her brother loves someone else and tries everything to destroy them.

The bulk of the film is devoted to the increasing nastiness of all parties towards one another, and is nothing more than a series of hateful outbursts and recriminations followed by abject apologies. It culminates in what might be a last reconciliation, as the American boy finally realizes the true nature of his sorry sibling and what her machinations have cost him. But fate, alas, is not with him, and everyone loses big time. Especially the viewer.

In a DVD interview, director Casper Andreas says, "It is not all good times being in a relationship." He says he wanted to explore what happens when the passionate love you thought would last forever does not, and the love goes away. I understand his point and, I think I view this film differently than those reviewers here who clearly hate it. I've often said, "A relationship is always wonderful until it isn't anymore." A friend of mine says, "the opposite of love is not hate. Hate is merely love standing on its head. The opposite of love is indifference." One thing is certain; lovers Kyle and Marcel (Simon Miller and Justin Tensen) are never indifferent to each other. Andreas captures this complex dynamic, and how we often love and hurt each other simultaneously; with pinpoint, often heartbreaking, accuracy.

French Marcel marries his lesbian friend Sarah (Jane Elliott) so he can stay in New York City with Kyle. Marcel and Kyle move in together, while Sarah gets Marcel's old apartment down the hall. This imperfect, but satisfactory, arrangement is thrown off balance by the arrival of Kyle's trangendered sibling April/Cole (Rob Harmon), who comes with endless emotional issues and baggage.

This independent drama was, astonishingly, shot in seventeen days; primarily in an abandoned New York City apartment building. I think the condition of the apartment building serves as the perfect metaphor for the crumbling relationships within.

Essentially, we watch Kyle and Marcel's relationship disintigrate; which is extremely painful to watch (this may be why many viewers find the film disturbing and even distasteful). Kyle and Marcel are torn apart by forces from within (both admit to one-night stands with strangers) and from without (April/Cole is an extremely toxic person who exacerbates the vulnerablities in Kyle and Marcel's relationship in order to break them up).

I know many reviewers hate this film, based on the low ratings, and I am in the minority. I don't believe this movie gives gay cinema or gay characters a bad name. Heterosexuals often display the same behaviors and have the same tragic things happen to them. Think of this as a "relationship movie." I can tell you that watching this movie, I felt like some painful wounds inside me were being ripped open. The whole movie rang sadly true and honest to me. I could not stop crying. The drama often reaches near operatic heights. The climax is a disturbing scene of domestic violence; while the conclusion, I think, makes the entire movie a tragedy of Shakespearean porportions. I highly recommend this adult drama, but not without a box of kleenex.

It is shameful that the Executive Producer, Mich Lyon, for "Between Love & Goodbye" offers his film a 5-star review without identifying his participation.

Most people will lose complete sight of the purpose of the movie due to the complex way it was presented. But the soundtrack is great

Between Love & Goodbye is a romance on reverse: instead of tell you the story of two men falling in love, it tells you the story of two men who do everything to destroy that love. At the beginning I was all for Marcel, I found that Kyle was immature and easily misled by wrong friends and co. But then I realized that Kyle is only really young and that Marcel, apparently the perfect and good boyfriend, has some ego of his own, and he is not probably the right person to understand and bring back on track someone like Kyle. So there is no right or wrong side on this couple both of them are equally guilty for what it's falling on them.

Side note: again one of my favorite models, this time Matthew Ludwinski, has a small role... I'm happy for him, I was wondering what it was of him after his Milan period.

The film was quite well done; however, I was disappointed with the ending as there was no follow-up as what happened after the break-up.

First, let me say that the music and how it was incorporated into the film were very good. This is not a feel good movie, but one which makes you think and feel. It is not a commentary on gays, but a commentary on unhealthy family relationships. Not as upsetting as Edge of Seventeen, but much more predictable. Although the ending was somewhat predictable (Kyle got a clue), I was still moved enough to watch the whole film.

Between Love and Goodbye to me was a well written and touching movie. I won't go into the plot as others have done in their reviews but it does bring alive the difficulties that gay relationships can result in when other people are interfering and jeolousy abounds as happens in this film.

The actors did Casper Andreas proud and I don't like to single any one person out really but Rob Harmon was excellent as the sister come brother of Simon Miller.

Whether an actor is gay or not it is not easy playing gay scenes as they can sometimes come over as very campy. In this film the love scenes - and there really was not a lot of them - were delicately and artistically done. One could feel the loneliness and despair of Justin Tenson's character as he was being left out in the cold more and more and Simon's character becoming colder and harder as the movie progressed egged on by Rob Harmon's bitchy and possibly incentuous character.

But the best thing to do is go and see it for yourself as peoples' taste is so different and what I or the others say in these reviews are only our opinions and should only be taken at face value and not as a definate yes or no as to whether the movie is good or bad.

I was GLUED to the screen when I saw this film. I very much identified with it on many levels. Oft times, especially with two men, things can go from extraordinarily loving to completely vicious. This movie portrayed it very, very well. As for the reviewers complaining how the two lead characters changed so dramatically--that is often the way it goes! HOW MANY TIMES have you said, at the end of a very rocky relationship "My God...he's like a totally different person!" or "I guess I never really knew him..." This is very well demonstrated in this film.

As far as the evil brother of the American guy--I have experienced that too, and it is very destructive to a relationship, depending on how strong one's boundaries are.

I love this film, because it is realistic. These things happen, and quite often. It may not be a cutesy film like "Beautiful Things" but few gay relationships, ESPECIALLY IN BIG CITY'S, are.