Even though the summer season is over and the chill of fall is just around the corner, there are worse places in the world to be stranded than a cozy New England beach town. But despite the beautiful sunsets and having the sandy beaches of Provincetown, Massachusetts almost to himself, lonely Brazilian visitor Lorenzo (Marco Pigossi) is a queer indie hero. high tidefeel like you’re trapped in this sunny paradise.
First of all, he is heartbroken ever since his lover Joe, who brought him to P-Town, suddenly leaves and ghosts him. Lorenzo still has a place to live in a converted cabin in the backyard of homeowner Scott (Bill Irwin), an old friend of Joe’s. But he has no money and no prospects for gainful employment as he is in the country on a tourist visa that is about to expire.
Lorenko struggles to find an employer willing to sponsor a legitimate job, while taking an off-the-books job cleaning vacation rentals and languishing alone under Scott’s watchful eye. Hut.
useful Lorenzo is supposed to be a modest guy given his circumstances, especially in the gay mecca of P-Town, but he still harbors a quiet, lonely despair that permeates the film. Marco Calvani makes a solid feature-length debut, conveying a melancholy mood through glimpses of the resort’s waning summer season: its nearly empty bars and deserted beaches.
Under composer Sebastian Plano’s melancholy strings, when Lorenzo isn’t riding his bicycle to his housekeeping job or preoccupied with an unsatisfying love affair, he plods alone through the sand dunes. Walk around. The montage captures the quiet, off-season atmosphere of the town, and Pigossi’s performance expresses Lorenzo’s waning pride and self-confidence. Despite the protagonist’s constant self-pity, the actor shines.
Fortunately, Lorenzo attracts the amorous attentions of another visitor later in the season – but with clear plans for the future – Maurice (James Brand), a handsome nurse from Queens, New York. Staying strong enough to collect. Through their gently simmering love affair, Lorenzo may be able to rekindle his inner flame and rediscover his sense of direction.
The development of their courtship, if not the exact outcome, is predictable, as is the course of Lorenzo’s sad bachelor disintegration. The time between when he first offers party drugs in a club and when he’s wasted on GHB and regrets the whole choice is just a typical queer indie moment. Can’t a guy just have a fun night out at one of these movies?
The film’s sensitive treatment of clubbing and casual sex is consistent with Lorenzo’s Catholic guilt, which is conveyed through a phone call to his mother voiced by Glaucia Rodriguez. Come. She likes to remind him that he’s not too old to get married and have children yet, but “not any younger.”
Lorenzo is still close to his mother and even makes her believe that he is studying at Harvard University instead of being lost in P-Town. Screenwriter and director Calvani, a gay man from Brazil who grew up in what he describes as a conservative family, cleverly exploits the many disconnects between the foreign and the familiar, the personal and the political, to create the film’s Injects a lot of subtle humor.
However, any laughs are generated by an eclectic supporting cast, including Pigosi, who doesn’t go far beyond playing a wounded puppy. tangerine Starring Maia Taylor as Maurice’s brash friend Crystal, Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei plays Miriam, a successful artist who helps Lorenzo paint at home.
Irwin adds convincing tension as Scott, a widow who, like Lorenzo, is lonely and longs for a younger man with an unmistakable desire. Lorenzo, who is often shirtless or even naked in each scene, knows what is wanted, but what he wants is to be cherished, accepted, and loved. That’s what I feel. Unfortunately, deportation doesn’t wait for love, so you’ll probably need to sort out your immigration status first.
High tide (★★★☆☆) is available to stream or purchase digitally on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Fandango at Home. Also available soon on DVD and Blu-Ray from Strand Releasing. visit www.stranreleasing.com.
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