Customer Reviews

Running Deep

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A family drama of a child abuse victim-fresh widower-in-his-sixties trying to reconnect with offspring - biological gay and adopted Afro-American sons- is so boring that just big funs of a gender might get intrigue pleased with.

Personal demons are "Running Deep" (2007) among the men of the Barnes family.

Patriarch Michael is newly retired, still grieving somewhat over the untimely death of his wife to cancer, but still up to his philandering ways which his wife had confronted him about, and which bothered his sons more than he realized. Adopted son Matt was a successful stockbroker, married with two children, but has a serious drug problem about which his father is in denial. Younger son Kevin resents that his father never completely accepted the fact that he is gay, and is constantly on his case about his choice of career, which is managing a gay bar. When Kevin learns that his life-partner, Danny, has been cheating on him, he turns to his father and brother for comfort, only to become more involved in their own problems and failures.

When it is revealed that the deceased mother had secretly bought a beach house where the family spent many carefree summers when the boys were young, and now left it to them in her will, Michael and his sons decide to honor her memory by spending two weeks at the house together. The stay reopens old wounds and reintroduces memories that were best forgotten, until an unforeseen tragedy forces two of the Barnes men to try to get over barely-repressed traumatic experiences from their past.

Interesting story, handled well by a cast of talented actors. A bit implausible at times, but shows how seemingly ingrained prejudices can be rooted in childhood experiences. DVD has no extras but chapter stops. Give it four stars out of five.

I really enjoyed this movie. The musical score was much better than average with more body and inspiration that most movies have.

Overwrought and badly acted, this movie pretends to be about deep issues, but is so ineptly handled that you don't really care about any of the leads. The fact that the story is preposterously over-dramatic doesn't help matters any. Lust, drug abuse, betrayal, death, and attempted murder all take place in the span of the movie--and none of them are dealt with realistically. If you want a moving drama, look elsewhere.

This isn't per se a gay film. Rather, it is a tight family drama, despite a few moments of embarrassing formula scripting, revolving about an older rué and his two adopted sons, one a bartender with a male lover, the other a stockbroker with a collapsing marriage and a cocaine problem. The wife and mother has left in her will the title to a beach cottage where the family enjoyed many a happy summer week, and the three men head for the cottage for a little male bonding - with the predictable messy results, given the lack of honest ommunication between them (and especially between father and sons) throughout their lives. If the direction hadn't been well above standard, if the script had been less incisive, had the screenplay been "Hallmark Worthy" instead of full of punch, or if the acting had not been above par (excepting the boyfriend) the film would have sunk into the abyss of maudlin. Not a perfect film - there are a couple of scenes where the acting is sub-par, and an expensive re-shoot would have been beneficial - but it's not a perfect life, and this film will win your applause for its positives, understanding for its weaknesses.