"Love! Valor! Compassion! ” ( Eng. Love! Valor! Compassion! ) Is a dramatic film of 1997 directed by Joe Mantello , based on the play of the same name by Terrence McNally , who acted as the screenwriter of the picture [1] .
| Love! Valor! Compassion! | |
|---|---|
| English Love! Valour! Compassion! | |
| Genre | drama |
| Producer | Joe Mantello |
| Producer | Doug Chepin |
| Author script | Terrence McNally |
| In the main cast | Jason Alexander Stephen Spinella Stephen Bogardus |
| Operator | Alik Sakharov |
| Composer | Harold Wheeler |
| Film company | Fine line features |
| Duration | 108 min |
| Budget | 2 million dollars |
| Fees | $ 2.9 million |
| A country |  USA |
| Tongue | English |
| Year | 1997 |
| IMDb | ID 0119578 |
As in many film adaptations of stage plays, the script underwent numerous changes, excluding almost all direct appeals to the audience. This picture remains the only theatrical film directed by Mantello, which was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville Film Festival .
Content
Story
This is the story of eight homosexual friends who gather for three summer weekends in a lakefront house in Dutchess County, New York, where they relax, reflect and plan their difficult lives during the AIDS epidemic - the mid-1990s .
The house belongs to Gregory, a successful Broadway choreographer who feels the midlife crisis is approaching, he is afraid that he is losing his creativity, and his twenty-year-old lover Bobby, a blind young man, legal assistant who is interested in gardening.
Each of the guests in their home is somehow connected with the work of Gregory. Arthur and his longtime partner Perry are business consultants; John Jekyll, a lecherous Englishman who accompanies dancing and does not like his brother James, a sweet young man infected with AIDS; his friend Ramon, a sociable young man who sympathizes with Bobby; and Buzz Hauser is a Broadway fan, costume designer, and the most stereotypical gay man in the company.
The first joint dinner ends in a quarrel and subsequent reconciliation.
The following weekend, John brings his twin brother James to the house, who surprises everyone with his mannered behavior. While all the friends gathered to play volleyball, Ramon and Bobby separated from the rest and went for a swim, where Ramon kissed the blind youth. James enjoys communicating with Buzzer, they are becoming closer and more helping each other to accept his illness.
Bobby says on the phone that his sister has passed away, a man has a tantrum and only Gregory can calm him down. The next morning, Bobby confesses to his beloved in treason, and Gregory decides to drive him out of the house. In the evening, Arthur and Perry congratulate everyone on their anniversary - 14 years of marriage, and Bobby leaves.
The next weekend, Bobby returns, Gregory attacks Ramona, but everyone else arrives at the house on time and stops it. Ramon begins to mock the owner of the house. Buzzer takes care of the dying James, John arrives at night and tries to strangle his brother, but does not cope with emotions and begins to sob. Buzz hallway talks to Perry and asks him for care and care when the disease begins to progress.
Friends communicate, swear, sort things out and find out the unpleasant truth about each other. Infidelity, flirtation, AIDS, a sudden reassessment of values, all this makes the heroes think about life and death.
In the finale, everyone gathers for a rehearsal of a number from the ballet Swan Lake, during which James becomes ill, but recording continues. Heroes dance to the shooting, each of them behind the scenes discusses his death. This video will be sent to Carnegie Hall for the evening on AIDS.
In the final, the men, having returned to the house and rethought a lot, leave empty quarrels and all together enjoy a night bath in the moonlight.
Cast
- Stephen Bogardus - Gregory Mitchell
- John Glover - John and James Jekyll
- Stephen Spinella - Perry
- Jason Alexander - Buzz Houser
- Randy Becker - Ramon
- Benjamin Hickey - Arthur
- Justin Kirk - Bobby Brahms
Criticism
In general, the film received positive reviews from critics. In particular, praised the acting work of John Glover.
American critic Roger Ebert wrote about the painting: “... The dramatic arch is so traditional that it is almost encouraging. However, „Love! Valor! Compassion! “Possesses power and insight, and perhaps the strong point is that the film is not interested in technical experiments: we are talking about characters and dialogue expressed in a good game - the very definition is“ well done ”. Mantello, who directed the Off Broadway production and made his debut in this film, is more involved in recording performances than visual innovation. He allows himself small flashes of wit, but basically it serves material that fits well with the touching history of human life - not homosexual, but universal, since real problems depend not on sexuality, but on character ... ” [2] .
On the Rotten Tomatoes website , the film has a rating of 67%, based on 21 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 6.2 out of 10 [3] .
On the Metacritic website , the film scored 59 points out of 100, based on 20 reviews from critics [4] .
Notes
- ↑ Holden, Stephen . Tenderness and Rage Residing in Men's Hearts , The New York Times (May 16, 1997). The appeal date is June 13, 2019.
- ↑ Roger Ebert. Love! Valour! Compassion! Movie Review (1997) | Roger Ebert rogerebert.com. The appeal date is June 13, 2019.
- ↑ Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997 ) . The appeal date is June 13, 2019.
- ↑ Love! Valour! Compassion! (eng.) The appeal date is June 13, 2019.
Links
- Love! Valor! Compassion! on IMDb
- Love! Valor! Compassion! on Rotten Tomatoes
- Love! Valor! Compassion! on AllMovie
- Love! Valor! Compassion! on the Internet Broadway Database