Four, opening Sept. 20 at the AMC River East, is an outstanding character study directed by Joshua Sanchez.
The filmmaker adapted Christopher Shin's play about two couples that meet up for sex on the same Fourth of July. June (Emory Cohen) is a shy, gay teen who arranges a hook-up over the Internet with Joe (Wendell Pierce), a married, gregarious African-American man. Sanchez deftly captures the awkwardness and strained intimacy of their encounter, which is contrasted with Joe's daughter, Abigayle (Aja Naomi King), reluctantly meeting up with the smooth-talking Dexter (E.J. Bonilla).
In a recent Skype session, Sanchez talked about the queer characters in Four.
Windy City Times: What were you like as a teen—shy but adventurous, like June, or more flamboyant, like his gay friend Todd (Liam Benzvi)?
Joshua Sanchez: [Laughs] I was probably much more like June. I grew up in Texas. My parents were very religious. [Texas] was not a welcoming environment for a gay kid. I was not unhappy as a teen—I struggled with my sexuality, but I had other things to keep me afloat—I was into punk rock, skateboarding, and film. I wish I was more like Todd. Gay kids are like that now; the acceptance is greater. I wouldn't want to ascribe any kind of positivity to struggling with sexuality, but it does prepare you to deal with life. It is a good a thing that kids get to be more open now.
WCT: How do you think audiences, in general, and gay men, in particular, relate to the characters of Joe and June?
JS: I feel that a lot of gay men have a reaction to Joe that is nuanced and complex. You can read all kinds of unsavory aspects to his character, but to me, he was a man who was dealing with a lot of common gay male stuff. It was normal in my view of how gay men develop and the challenges they face. It makes folks uncomfortable to see the younger man-older man gay male relationship, which is common for younger guys who look to older men to show them how to be gay. One of the aspects of June's character is that we don't see him as a victim.
WCT: The film has themes about being big; being proud of oneself, and believing in oneself…
JS: I guess that Joe himself—that moment where he asks June to "be big, be American," is right after they first meet, and in a way it is the inciting aspect of the movie. It's setting the tone of the rest of the film. It brings this confidence out of June. It's also hypocritical, because Joe has such a twisted notion of what that means for himself. That's kind of part of growing up, reconciling aspects of yourself that you're not comfortable with, and learning to love yourself and keep your self-confidence up.
WCT: And you did that, coming out? What are your experiences as a gay man?
JS: When I came out I was 23, and it was in 2000. It was not the easiest thing. I came to New York [for school], and I knew I had to get out of Texas. It was about getting that distance away. I needed that space to come into my own sexually and otherwise. I had a few boyfriends before I landed into a long-term relationship with an older man for seven years. He's still a huge part of my life, but I'm in another long-term relationship now, with a guy whose more my own age. I felt that "Four" was honest to my experience.
WCT: What makes your film so effective is how you frame the characters. You cut back and forth between Joe and June in the car—visually isolating them even though they are sitting side by side.
JS: We used a handheld camera to tell the story effectively. We shot it in scope—a long rectangular box—which could keep two characters in the frame at the same time and then pull focus since it was so much about two characters in the same scene.
WCT: How did you decide to film the sex scenes? They are passionate, but not erotic. What was your goal in depicting sex in Four?
JS: I approached it by [asking], "What would typically happen in a situation like that?" Staging it was hard for all of us. We shot the Joe/June part in a real hotel room, which adds an authenticity to the vibe. The talented actors were very unafraid—they wanted to push it even more than I was comfortable pushing it. They wanted to tell the truth of the situation. What made the difference was giving the space and time to the actors to do what they have to do to discover the beats of the performances to bring out the emotions.
©2013 Gary M. Kramer
