a short film by Joachim Back 2009 | 20 mins | Denmark - US ›› The New Tenants the apartment move from hell. Winner of the 2010 Academy® award for the Best Live Action Short, this dark humoured piece from director Joachim Back tells the story of lovers Frank and Peter and their first hours in their new apartment together. Seemingly down on their luck, things are about to get a lot worse, when this apartment with history sees their welcome committee consist of a noisy neighbour, a crazed husband, not to mention the local trigger-happy drug dealer. Having just moved in, the question soon beckons - can they make it out alive? In a short that sets out to showcase that no matter how bad things may seem, they could be a lot worse, David Rakoff dominates as Frank; that of an obnoxious middle aged and for that matter motormouth of a partner from hell. Opening with Frank's cynical view of the world, in what is essentially a two-and-a-half-minute monologue from Rakoff, this black comedy sees him delight in ignoring his lover's repeated requests to stop smoking, itself a setup for a later scene. Only and in spite of Rakoff's fine adaptation of the original screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen, something appears to have been lost in translation, as the loving couple of the piece appear to be anything but lovers, with little, if any chemistry between them, that is until the end credits roll. Thankfully the many off-the-wall twists and turns of the increasingly violent plot keep you entertained, added to which its extremely well shot, staged and performed, complete with producer Sam Bisbee's singing his To Night is the Last heart out. Yet for a comedy, even a dark one, laughs are few and far between. But it sure does make your last move, seem far less of a hassle! Gay Visibility - covert / overt.  Nudity - none.  Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.  ›› Available to buy from Amazon.co.uk. available on DVD as part of the Peccadillo Pictures catalogue - 'Boys on Film 7: Bad Romance' release: 26.September.2011. starring: David Rakoff / Frank, Jamie Harrold / Peter, Helen Hanft / Grandma, Vincent D'Onofrio / Jan, Kevin Corrigan / Zelko and Liane Balaban as Irene. official website: www.thenewtenantsfilm.com Copyright 2011 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #432 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹