As a young gay man coming out before Stonewall, I saw the original movie and was blown away with the intensity and truth in this film. It was a pivotal movie that showed me the self hate that we all had during that time, and how that hate manifested in our relationships with self and others.
This revision of that film with a 2020 cast was every bit as powerful and poignant, with an excellent direction by Joe Mantelo. Thank God they did not try to modernize the film and kept the original 1968 time. Jim Parsons is just an amazing actor as is Zachary Quinto who captured Michal and Harold with intensity and focus. The whole cast was amazing.
In some ways the play has a certain dated feel but that does not distract it enhances. The Gay men's community has been a work in progress and Mark Crowley wrote this decades before liberation, AIDS, gay marriage, wrote this when being gay was a crime. Thank God we don't have to embrace the self loathing we did back then. This still is a difficult film for me to watch, very confronting, but definitely a gem of a production.Awards are waiting I am certain!
