Finding North

these pages are for commenting on movies, not for making broad, erroneous statements about a people. so without further ado...

being a straight and married person; i was moved by the torment that our main character travis furlong was going through. the addition of rhonda portelli into his life was just a reason for us to travel with him on his journey through loss, dispare, and acceptation.

this is a good movie. and if you're straight and renting this, then you were intelligent enough to read the back of the box or the plot page here at imdb and still be interested in the story; therefore, you'll "get" it.

I enjoyed this movie, particularly John Benjamin Hickey's work. He is natural, relaxed, and did not force emotions, given the topic of the surviving partner of a gay man who had died of AIDS.

It dealt with the tremendous emotional loss, the lack of social validation of his relationship (not considered a husband/widow) in a poignant way. Hickey's character's attempt at suicide is not far-fetched. At the height of the initial wave of gay men dying from AIDS, their surviving partners/ spouses were often cut-out or barred from funeral services, denied access to homes they co-owned or rented, and had joint bank accounts emptied by hateful family members of the deceased.

While the bank teller character is more caricature, she lends the right humorous twist to this 'road trip/love story'. The various Texas characters are on-the-money, well-cast, and sweet.

I have watched this movie a number of times and enjoyed it very much, each time.

This movie owes much to the Screwball Comedy genre. A gay man retraces his newly deceased (AIDS) partner's footsteps in Denton, Texas with an unmarried, living at home at 30, kooky female bankteller who "can't say 'No.'" It's a sort of road movie/screwball comedy.

I didn't think it was a bad movie at all, and I laughed several times. I thought the character of Travis was a bit wooden and 2-D. I'm not sure why someone who just lost his love would not even cry, but be slightly angered at their death (brooding). There should have been a little more depth in his character. The movie is sad and silly, touching and corny.

Wolfe usually puts out decent movies, and this is another in their DVD stash.

It's great to see another movie where AIDS plays a role in the plot, but, by 1998 (and now), the disease does not have the impact that it should in this movie, like it did in movies like "Longtime Companion," "Philadelphia," and "It's My Party." The fact that the men are gay is almost secondary to this movie (unfortunately). I don't have a reason for why this is the case in this movie. It certainly dulls the impact of the story.

I give it 7 of 10. Funny, engaging, and well-made for the most part. ------ E.

SIDENOTE: Also, to be demeaning and saying that heterosexuals won't "get" this movie is condescending and wrong. I am not gay, and neither is my wife, and we both very much "got" this movie. One of the main problems with this statement by the gay/lesbian community goes back to the 70s and 80s way of thinking about movies and who they are "made for." This is wrong in every case. Wexler, the director, did a fine job showing that movies with queer themes should be viewed as universal, something the "old school thinkers" tend to want to negate.

The script could have been more deftly handled. The story was slow in developing at the beginning and the acting was not as wonderful as one might have liked. The actors are young and need time to develop their craft. In contrast, the script for "Green Plaid Shirt" touches one deeply. In "Finding North" one is not quite as fond of the characters portrayed. Hopefully a second viewing of "Finding North" will give a better impression of what the writer intended to convey.

Good portrayal of loss and reaffirmation of life. Existential comment on having a direction - NORTH. Keeps you guessing and has a really sweet ending. The location in Denton, TX was great. Straights are not ALL homophobic. Normal is normal. This film shows a friendship which is better than normal!