a film by Nathan Adloff 2012 | 79 mins | US ›› Nate and Margaret a remarkably honest take on friendship and humanity. Official Synopsis:- Nate is a 19-year-old gay film student whose best friend happens to be Margaret; a 52-year-old spinster who works shifts as a coffee shop waitress, but dreams of being a stand-up comedian. In spite of their age difference, they have a perfectly functioning friendship, that is until Nate's audacious classmate Darla sets Nate up on a date with James. Now, Nate has less time for Margaret, forcing her to find a life of her own. Dave Says:- In what is in essence a play on the "odd couple" scenario, Nathan Adloff alongside co-writer Justin DM Palmer, has crafted a remarkably honest take on friendship and humanity. Beautifully played out, with solid production values and acting throughout, this is a tale that touches the heart, namely how true friendship is put to the test when love enters the equation. As expected, Natalie West of Roseanne fame excels as the comic in training, wonderfully shown tweaking her material, let alone her appearance, whilst all along building up her confidence from coffee shop stage to comedy circuit. Yet it is a performance that is well countered by child actor turned indie favourite Tyler Ross, who is every inch the polar opposite of third party James, his lack of sexual experience and boyish charm, in stark contrast to Conor McCahill's out in the city persona, that of a lover whose infatuation, is but a guise for a selfish streak. In short, this is a film that is but an apt lesson in character study and thankfully here Adloff remains faithful to his theme, focusing on the bond between two people whose differing ages, sexualities and attitudes to life, form the foundation stone of their friendship, as Margaret's dour personality and deadpan delivery is played out against Nate's increasingly out of character behaviour. And whilst there are scenes of passionate boy-on-boy lip-service, such are not there to plug gaps in the narrative, rather being observations into the world of the protagonists. Sure, it's quirky in parts; a laidback work punctuated with moments of drama, but I liked it, being refreshingly different from your standard gay cinema and all the more rewarding, as a result. Gay Visibility - overt.  Nudity - strictly from the waist up.  Overall - file under ... 3+ stars.  ›› Available to buy from Amazon.com. available on DVD as part of the Breaking Glass Pictures catalogue: 28.August.2012 / US. principal players: Natalie West / Margaret, Tyler Ross / Nate, Conor McCahill / James, Gaby Hoffmann / Darla and Charles Solomon Jr as Gregory Maddock. official website: nateandmargaret.com Copyright 2012 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #520 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹