Gay Celluloid on Adonis

›› Adonis ‹‹

a short film by Curtis James Salt.

2014 | 17 mins | US.

a decidedly dark tale of the pursuit for physical perfection.

starring: Adam Rose / twins Garrett and Pearce, Ashley-Sarah Price / Helen, Brianne Cordaro / Mindy, Matthew Eriksen / Jack,
Shannon Muhs / Mother, Michelle Banning / Vivian, Jordan Mitchell-Love / Andrew, Brad Hemesath / Bill,
Garrett Berna / Ryan and with James Donnelly as Miles.

Official Synopsis:

A non-narrative story about two twin brothers and the danger one of them puts everyone in by pursuing the sport of bodybuilding by any means necessary.

Dave says:

Edited from over 15 hours worth of footage that was shot as a promo styled trailer to represent Curtis James Salt's award-winning screenplay of the same name and adapted here into the short film medium, the result is but a mouth-watering appetizer of a work that's all but crying out to be showcased in the feature film format. And personally I would love to see that, given this is nothing short of a tantalizing glimpse of what could be; that of a loose adaptation of the feature length script, as told chapter, if not character fashion, being and in the main devoid of dialogue.

Sure, that's the drawback of a work of this nature; not the minimal use of dialogue, given composer Justin Bell does an inspired job of filling in such narrative gaps, along the way creating a striking rendition of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Rather, such gaps only serve to illustrate that key sections of the screenplay remain untold, scenes that were either not filmed, or relegated to the cutting room floor. And that's a shame, because here we find Salt delight in luring you in with a seductive story of the pursuit for physical perfection, only to conclude his tale in a far more shocking fashion. Between then and now however, we learn of the lives of twin brothers Garrett and Pearce; both keen bodybuilders competing against each other in an upcoming competition, yet differing in their sexualities, with Garrett having fallen head over heels for talented dancer Helen, only for Pearce to work as a go-go boy at a gay nightclub, one where he's destined to meet boyfriend-to-be Jack. Estranged at first, their respective partners help reconcile the differences between the twins; yet all is not as it seems. For behind all the flexing and posing, a secret admirer lurks in the shadows, one who is determined to ensure that only one of the brothers wins - at any price.

In short and in as much as real life bodybuilder Adam Rose is perfectly cast as the identical siblings of the piece, flaunting his ripped torso in front of the camera one moment, whilst letting his lips find both female and male attention the next, the true workout here lies in the film's decidedly dark closing scenes, namely a dramatic finale that employed over 1000 photos to downright disturbing effect. And yet, something is missing; well, quite a lot actually. Not that this is a criticism; rather it's a reflection of the adaptation itself, given this work has clearly been edited from a myriad of differing scenes, offering a riveting, if all too fragmented interpretation of its feature length script.

Beautifully scored however, and packed with more muscle than what you can shake a posing trunk at, this rollercoaster ride of an adapted short may well haunt you long after the end credits have rolled, thanks to its gripping macabre twist. As ever, check it out and see what you think.

›› check out the Official FreeView on Vimeo.

Gay Visibility - overt.
Nudity - from the waist up.
Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.

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archive reference #2015009

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