Denied

This movie has going for it what very few 'gay movies' have; the characters and the plot are realistic. The principle actors were very good in their roles. The only real problem was getting the acting down on film. Lots of the scenes are pretty dark, and sometimes it's hard to hear exactly what's being said. But, these are problems that lots of low-budget films, and, again, the story makes up for it.

Some people I know say that the long shots of one character during a scene, or the periods of silence between the actors make them uncomfortable, but that's why i like the movie. It's very realistic. People don't talk like they do in Kevin Smith films. Sometimes you just sit with your boyfriend and don't know what to say for a while.

Again, Acting-Good, Story-Good, Cinematography-Medium. If nothing else, see it because Matt Austin, who plays Merrick here, is the Green Ranger in the current Power Rangers Show. Small World.

It's a shame the production is somewhat student-y and that some of the dialogue is muffled and inaudible, because this is a film that rings true. Two straight-acting friends, a hunk and a dropout, move in together, and we slowly start to piece together just what kind of relationship they have - which is appropriate, since they don't appear to know either. This is what I liked best about this film - no neat resolutions, no flashes of insight, just a realistic and sometimes painful muddle of emotions and situations that have to be dealt with as best as can be, which usually isn't very well at all. That's certainly been my experience of dealing with sexuality, outside of the commercial gay ghetto anyway - real-life grappling with queer issues isn't neatly resolved in three acts and buying a Pride T-shirt doesn't make it all better. So this is definitely worth seeing, if you're not expecting Dolby stereo and answers to all your questions.

I pulled this one off the shelf at the video store without any idea what to expect out of it. The filming and particularly the sound seem amateur - don't look for special effects, or even for particularly revealing camera-work, and there are a few scenes where the dialogue is difficult to make out.

But what this movie is, is honest. Unlike in Hollywood, life doesn't have a script and doesn't always work out to "happily ever after", and the film has an uncertain, occasionally almost disjointed sense to it that reflects that. The lead actors, playing Troy and Merrick, acknowledge it as well; even Troy, who from the beginning seems to know more or less what he wants, doesn't know how to get it, and so is just as uncertain as his friend. The acting is understated and very believable, all the way to the end.

"Latter Days" has some similar themes, and would probably be enjoyed by those who like this movie, but like its setting in L.A. itself, "Latter Days" is at times a little bit larger than life. "Denied" has a down-to-earth, earnest feel to it that for the most part overcomes its technical shortcomings.

I rented 2 DVD's at a local DVD rental store and the 3rd was free so I picked Denied.The plot and description sounded good.I started watching it and realized it was horrible.The picture quality and sound were atrocious.Nobody seemed to be really acting(I could be wrong)but it was like watching someone's home videos of their lives. The picture should have been digitally remastered, the audio or sound should have been done properly,and it desperately needed to be edited because some scenes dragged on way too long and were boring and lame.And then maybe it would be worthy of being released.What a waste! It was painful to watch and I don't know how it even found distribution.The only part I really liked was near the end when Merrick(Matt Austin) admits his feelings to Troy(Lee Rumohr)and they get it on.At least these 2 guys are cute and easy on the eyes.And then Troy decides he's fed up with the head games and living in a small town decides to leave for good.His affect on his best friend was surprising and touching! It is a nice story that undoubtedly occurs but this DVD seems like a very rough cut of what should have been a decent movie if it was remade with a higher budget and done properly.I was surprised to see Stefan Brogren(of Degrassi high/next generation) in such a low budget amateur film.There are some good Canadian films out there and some bad ones,but this one is an embarrassment.

A very well scripted film, wonderfully acted, depicting two young men struggling with their feeling towards each other, in the midst of heterosexual surroundings.

Unfortunately, the sound mix is so bad that the dialogs are impossible to follow - and they are essential to understanding what is going on.

I found a work-around on my computer: using an equalizer on the audio, I neutralised the low and medium frequencies and enhanced the medium-high frequencies: this made the dialogs followable. Quite amazing that the producers omitted this quality check!

I disregard the low light quality criticism. True, many scenes are filmed with scarcely a light from a light bulb, but for me, that enhances the atmosphere, although I would not have minded some more subtle shading at times.

All in all, if you can fix the sound, very worth while watching.