Boulevard

This film which is relevant to what’s going on in the USA right now also has all the characteristics of a timeless classic as the film itself is profoundly striking on the whole. The cinematic piece features beautiful work by writer Douglas Soesbe and director Dito Montiel (“A Giude to Recogonizing Your Saints”) alongside breathtaking performances from Robin Williams (Nolan/”Mrs. Doubtfire”, “The Birdcage”, “Patch Adams”), Kathy Baker (Joy, “Picket Fences”, ‘Edward Scissorhands”), Roberto Aguire (Leo, ”Struck By Lightning”) which are paired with the characters and set being well dressed and designed – and the production itself being well imagined. These variables are what equate this movie to an incredibly successful work of art.

The film follows the story of Nolan, a man living in a marriage of convenience so he can hide a secret which can prevent him from living a life others would perceive as normal. While still keeping up the façade in an attempt to continue to be normal he befriends a young male prostitute who he soon comes to love.

The film itself moves at a slow pace with no real laugh-out-loud moments to break up the seriousness of the piece. With that said the film never feels long, drawn out or boring. You find yourself viewing a world that you don’t want to look away from, captivated by Williams and Baker who have the chemistry of a couple who have loved each other for 20+ years, and their performances along with Roberto Aguire will leave you empathetic thought the film, automatically finding a way to relate to the emotions these characters are having, even if you haven’t been in the situation yourself.

Bob Odenkirk (Winston, ”Breaking Bad”, ”Better Call Saul”) and Giles Matthey (Eddie, “24: Live Another Day”) also give notable performances.

While the film had many interesting positives to write about, the one that stood out most to me was that this truly was Nolan’s story, there was never a scene that included another character which Nolan’s wasn’t somehow in. Very often in film it’ll be clear that the film’s story belongs to a specific character and yet you’ll see scenes where that character doesn’t appear at all. Not in this case, Nolan appears in every scene throughout the film which leaves you with a lot of questions about the other characters, and yet somehow none at all. It is a characteristic of the film that separates it from all others like it and just adds points to the film’s unexpected seductive quality.

Overall this film was not only effective technically, it spoke to me as an audience member as well, and I personally cannot wait for it to be released on DVD/BluRay so that it can find its place among the small amount of films in my home theatre collection.

The film comes out July 10th, opening in New York and the rolling out to other cities July 17th.