Synopsis
A lonely, middle-aged man hires a male prostitute to recreate a road trip from his past.
A lonely, middle-aged man hires a male prostitute to recreate a road trip from his past.
二次旅程, Retomar, Поездка в прошлое, 리테이크
Retake is another one of those films that I found looking for a day in the afternoon surfing the web because I'm being at home I'm bored with nothing better to do.
This gay romantic drama tells us about Jonathan who hires a male prostitute called Adam to recreate a road trip from his past and with form advances the same we discover about the misfortunes of this man tormented by the experiences he had three years ago which can not forget the love of his life. The two characters undertake the same journey and this will cause them to get to know both better as well as change the idea they had at the beginning of each other, immersing…
I was ready for some Tuc Watkins nudity, or at least a little skin and I got Tuc Watkins fucking with...*checks notes* all of his clothes on?! No no no. This is not the erotic adventure I signed up for. I didn't want Watkins with serious mental issues unless those mental issues led to him stripping. Instead, he picks up a younger sex worker and makes him live out the past and impersonate someone else who used to be close to him. So kinky, so not disturbing at all. Personally, I'd be like, "I'm going to play your therapist." But the hustler went along with it all.
I found the delivery a little robotic though. And I don't just mean…
I only chose a low-rated gay film to take a break from all the high ratings I've been giving these past few days, but dammit, this was honestly too good not given a high rating. Retake was not what I was expecting.
The film is about a middle-aged man who hired a male prostitute to roleplay as Brandon, a character we never really knew what happened but the man seemed to love the person so much that they end up recreating a road-trip from the man's past and the prostitute is getting paid to portray as Brandon the whole trip.
Peculiar as it sounds, it is honestly fresh and beautifully written, with characters that you can sympathize with and actually…
A film that constantly teeters between creepy and heartbreaking. But as the film progresses the heartbreak of it all comes out as the clear tone, and what we end up with is a genuine, albeit slightly messed up, look into how loneliness and heartache plague two very different people: One who is desperately trying to recreate and get back the happiness he no longer has, and another who claims to have never experienced love, only physicality and jealousy.
The premise is intriguing and there are moments that offer a somber look into the effects of loneliness, but the film never seems to reach its fullest potential, leaving me feeling neither profoundly moved nor entirely let down.
Sad, creepy, lonely. A lot better then expected.
Thank you Tuc Watkins.
It's a gay road trip character study so I was obviously gonna be charmed. Then throw in Bob from Desperate Housewives as sad, grumpy Jonathan (Tuc Watkins), trying to heal his heart, and you've hooked me definitely. I also like that Not Brandon (Devon Graye) gets to have autonomy as the sex worker that Jonathan hires for his somewhat mysterious, meticulously planned road trip.
Jonathan might be "in charge" but he doesn't get to treat Not Brandon -- that'll make sense when you watch -- like an object, simply because he's "paying". Not Brandon demands respect while also displaying a level of empathy that doesn't completely cross into the hooker with a heart of gold/hooker therapist trope, thankfully.
Watkins and…
i concluded that without the warmth of human connection, everything feels lost. those quiet moments were intensely painful. astonishing cinematography, acting and script. the entire film is truly heartbreaking.
always great seeing tuc watkins in something - his and graye's performances were actually pretty grounded in a story that could've easily spiraled into melodramatic over-acting. there's some pretty well-placed restraint that's much appreciated.
the script captures the well-worn paths of longing and grief that's a mainstay in most homosexual stories. i'm pretty sure if you're committed enough about this genre to actually find something this obscure, you won't find any surprises here.
because of the familiarity in the narrative, i can't say i ever really bought in to any part of the plot or the character development. watkin's past, while tragic, wasn't as intriguing as expected, which caused any conflicts between the two leads to fall flat.
there are…