Gay Celluloid on Yeah No Definitely

a short film by Dave Snyder

2007 | 14 mins | US

›› Yeah No Definitely

an assured study of a platonic male friendship.

With considerable attention currently on Colin Firth’s career defining performance of A Single Man coming to terms with the pain of grief, it has somehow been overlooked that gay cinema has tacked this genre many times over and in numerous ways, from AIDS related features to the major crossover work that was Brokeback Mountain. And as is obvious, the film short medium is no exception to the grieving process, as this emotional work from writer and director Dave Snyder perfectly illustrates. Only here Snyder has added to his bereavement tale, the gay cinematic favourite of falling in love with your straight best friend.

For college buddies Cam and Kiff share an intense friendship, even more so following the death of Cam’s mother. Yet tears of grief are not the only feelings that Cam is holding back, having become increasingly aware of his attraction to his best friend. Only with Cam’s ex girlfriend Diane present with her new man Jason and the object of Cam’s sexual desire soon to be seen heading in the direction of pretty girl Nadia, is it all too much for Cam to take before finally letting rip with his emotions?

With a title that relates to being too afraid to say what you really feel, this bittersweet short has a lot going for it. Inparticular the fine work from Alan Barnes Netherton as Kiff and Vincent Piazza as the not so straight boy of the piece, who between them vividly create a genuine sense of screen camaraderie, swearing and joking their way through life and yet equally on the lookout for each other.

That Kiff had hoped that the party atmosphere would make Cam start to enjoy life again, only adds to the weight of the scenario on offer, one that is all the more poignant given it is based on a feature length script that Snyder wrote following the death of his mother. And whilst the result is hardly gay to the core; indeed you’ll see more openly same-sex affection between Luke and Noah on the Stateside soap As The World Turns, the bottom line is that this is not a coming out piece.

For shot on location in the beautiful lakeside town of Tuxedo, New York, this well-executed work of love from Snyder marks instead an assured study of a platonic male friendship, one that is so close that it has seen Cam’s pain over the loss of his mother poured into his unrequited love for his best friend. What is not said however, is if Kiff is aware of Cam’s feelings for him, but then could the answer lie in the title?

Was available on DVD as part of the dearly missed Picture This! catalogue - 'Boys Briefs #5' release.

starring: Vincent Piazza, Alan Barnes Netherton, Alejandra Ambrosi,
Stephanie Chambers, Kay Bailey and Chris Piccinnini.

dedicated to Monique Botcharov Snyder.

archive reference #265

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