Watercolours #VQFF (@queerfilmfest)
My heart broke along with Danny Wheeler’s (Tye Olson). In a well-crafted story of coming of age, Watercolours (David Oliveras, USA, 2008) shows an often-told story of nerdy/geeky boy (Danny, Tye Olson in a super sweet depiction of an artistic geek) who falls in love with bad boy, jock type (Carter, Kyle Clare in a portrayal that annoys the heck out of me – a testament to his good acting). Why did I like a movie about a story that has been told many times over? I liked it because it doesn’t have the usual Hollywood boy-falls-in-love-with-boy, boy-loses-boy, boy-gets-boy-back way.
The story is told flashback style, as the movie starts with older Danny’s art exhibition. Back to the younger days (16 years ago), Carter is a jock who swims competitively an lives with a dominant father. Danny is an artistic kid who lives with his doting mother. Their lives entangle thanks to Carter’s bad grades and Danny’s brainiac capabilities. As expected, romance blossoms (Carter is uncertain of his sexuality but throughout the movie he shows definite love for Danny). Danny has never been in love and is at the same time surprised and joyous of the awakening of his own sexuality.
The love scenes are very well done, subtle (though fair warning, there’s full nudity) and really contribute to the story telling. Though at times I felt that the plot was disjointed (it looked as though the relationship evolved very slowly at times and super fast at times), Sullivan makes a good job of making us witness to a complicated relationship that (from Carter’s perspective) perhaps never should have started in the first place.
The casting for Danny and older Danny (Tye Olson and Ian Rhodes) was amazing. The resemblance is uncanny. Of all actors, I was particularly taken with Olson’s acting, and when his heart broke, mine broke along with his. There is a rather painful scene of gay bashing that I didn’t take well. While it complements the story and leads the way to part of the plot resolution, it was hard to take in given the recent gay bashings in Vancouver. I squirmed throughout the whole scene and covered my eyes more than once, I’ll admit.
I enjoyed the movie and left the theatre satisfied with how the story was told and how it resolved. It was a bit painful to watch (as it often happens to me when I see these “coming of age” movies) but very, very enjoyable. The VQFF selection committee did a fantastic job of choosing the films this year, most definitely.
The official VQFF summary and trailer follows:
On the opening night of his first New York art exhibit, Danny reflects on the inspiration of his paintings. Memories of his first love, Carter, are triggered and through a series of flashbacks a bumpy coming-of-age story is told. Danny’s mother takes in Carter, a high school athlete with golden-boy looks and a troubled home life. Danny-a nerdy type- helps Carter with his homework and before long these tutorials turn into mutual attraction. Their blossoming relationship brings Danny out of his shell, awakening both his sexuality and creativity. But it is heartache that drives Danny to paint as he discovers the hard way that only art can turn pain into beauty. Fifteen years later, Danny is faced with the reality that he has never truly moved on and let go.
