Blackbird
Patrik-Ian Polk has been dubbed "The father of gay Black cinema"—a title he is only too happy to claim, as he told The Guardian in a recent interview.
The 42-year-old filmmaker has been a torchbearer in that area for close to 20 years beginning, with his film Punks in 2000, although it was Noah's Arc, his series for Logo ( 2005-2006 ), that really put him on the map. A gay Black variation on Sex & the City—right down to the quartet of leading characters—Noah's Arc proved to be popular enough to spawn a feature film ( in 2008 ) and was followed by Polk's next feature, 2012's The Skinny. Yet another urban tale of a group of gay black men this time adding a lesbian to the mix, the film starred Jussie Smollett, the openly gay African-American actor-singer who has seen his career zoom thanks to his starring role on Lee Daniels' Empire.
Aside from both being out African-American directors ( and sometime screenwriters ), Daniels and Ian-Polk also share a taste for over-the-top, melodramatic stories driven by sexed up characters with a penchant for expressing their emotions and desires in scenery chewing terms. Although highly enjoyable, their individual projects are also rather uneven, mainly because the reaches of both men sometimes exceed their grasps. That's an apt description of Blackbird, Ian-Polk's 2014 feature that played at both last year's Black Alphabet Film Festival and Reeling, and is now available on VOD and home release.
Mo'Nique makes her first film appearance since winning the Oscar for Precious ( Daniels' incendiary 2009 film ) in Blackbird, based on the 1986 Larry Duplechan novel. It's a coming-of-age drama that centers on Randy ( openly gay actor Julian Walker ), a devout Christian teen with a gorgeous voice who is having a crisis of faith over his desire for his muscular classmate, evidenced by frequent nocturnal emissions. Mo'Nique plays his anguished mother whose life revolves around trying to find out what happened to Randy's younger sister who disappeared years before.
The mother's obsession has all but destroyed her marriage to her easy-going husband ( Isaiah Washington ), who nevertheless tries to keep a relationship going with the angry Randy. Many more plot complications—a budding gay romance, teenage pregnancy, etc.—are melded into the plot of this overwrought drama that is elevated by the performances of Mo'Nique ( who doesn't have nearly enough screen time ) and Washington.
Episodic and plot-heavy though the film may be, there's no denying that this—like all of Polk's work—is plenty entertaining. Also, seeing gay Black lives represented onscreen is refreshing in itself though, thankfully, not quite as rare as it was when I began covering queer cinema 11 years ago. http://www.blackbirdthemovie.com/
Olive Films
"Cinema Lives Here" is the motto for Olive Films, a boutique distributor on Blu-ray and DVD of back catalogue titles and European art-house movies licensed from the major studios. A cursory glance over releases from the Chicago-based company certainly lives up to that moniker, with everything from Bertolucci's 1900 to Ford's The Quiet Man in its lineup.
I'm particularly happy to see a nice smattering of titles that queer-film fans will be interested in. For example, there are Jodie Foster's 1991 thoughtful directorial debut Little Man Tate; the Wachowskis' first film, the hot lesbian thriller Bound; Joel Schumacher's moving drag queen drama Flawless; the campy guilty pleasure Roller Boogie; the forthcoming Prick Up Your Ears, the biopic about gay English playwright Joe Orton; and Deadly Prey, a violent, homoerotic '80s variation on Rambo starring model/action star and Playgirl centerfold Ted Prior.
Peter Glenville's 1961 adaptation of Tennessee Williams' smoldering melodrama Summer and Smoke; Tony Richardson's 1994 Blue Sky, with its Oscar-winning performance by Jessica Lange; and Jerry Schatzberg's underrated 1987 Christopher Reeve drama Street Smart, with its sensational breakout performance from Morgan Freeman, are examples of Olive's classy offerings.
Guilty pleasures and terrific, little known movies from practically every genre—as diverse as The Thing With Two Heads, Peter Benchley's Creature and a batch of Blaxploitation flicks ( including Coffy, my favorite Pam Grier movie ), sci-fi ( 1956's paranoid classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), film noir ( two superior Barbara Stanwyck thrillers from 1950, No Man of Her Own and The File on Thelma Jordan ), oddities ( 1954's Johnny Guitar ), and Hollywood itself ( 1965's Harlow, 1975's Once Is Not Enough, 1978's Fedora )—just scratch the surface of Olive's ever-expanding catalogue. As movie purveyors are increasingly shying away from anything that doesn't stream, Olive Films has become a welcome resource for Blu-ray/DVD collectors of remembered cinema treasures and those that got away. http://www.olivefilms.com/
Upcoming movie calendar
Highlights from films opening in Chicago, August 21 and 28 ( or available digitally )
Hitman: Agent 47 ( 8/21 )—A genetically engineered government assassin ( Rupert Friend ) is helped by a young woman in unlocking mysteries from her past and combatting a nefarious corporate plot. It's based on the series of video games, and co-stars out actor Zachary Quinto, Ciaran Hinds, and Thomas Kretschmann.
Sleeping with Other People ( 8/21 )—Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie star in this sex comedy in which, a dozen years after first hooking up, a man and woman run into each other and try to keep it on a friendly basis. Adam Scott, Amanda Peet and Natasha Lyonne co-star.
No Escape ( 8/26 )—A U.S. businessman ( Owen Wilson ) living in Southeast Asia tries to keep his family and himself out of harm's way in the aftermath of a terrifying political uprising.
We Are Your Friends ( 8/28 )—It's the latest from hunky heartthrob Zac Efron. This time out, he plays a DJ trying to hit the big time in Hollywood and, naturally, hedonistic complications galore ( in the personage of his mentor's luscious girlfriend ) throw up roadblocks to be overcome along the way. Emily Ratajkowski, Wes Bentley, Shiloh Fernandez and Jonny Weston co-star.
Grandma ( 8/28 )—Lily Tomlin finally gets to play a lesbian ( yay! ) in this road comedy in which she portrays the title character, a cranky pants whose life is shaken up by the surprise appearance of her pregnant 18 year-old granddaughter. Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden and Judy Greer co-star.
Noir City: Chicago 7 ( 8/28—9/3 )—The Music Box Theatre's annual film noir festival returns with a raft of little-seen '40s and early '50s noir classics in this much-anticipated annual series. This year I'm particularly thrilled to see the little revived Hangover Square, with queer star Laird Cregar in the title role, and Ladies In Retirement, starring Ida Lupino, among the treats being offered ( more about both in my next column ). www.musicboxtheatre.com/festivals/noir-city-chicago-7 .
