The 2015 gay-themed drams "The Surface," which was released on DVD on December 15 2015, nicely presents the typical sensual/erotic elements of an LGBT film in the context of a coming-of-age (no pun intended) story from the early career of Keanu Reeves. Ironically named smooth a s a baby seal Australian model/actor Harry Hains, that The Advocate identifies as a person to watch in 2015, provides all of the sensuality and most of the eroticism in his role as former foster child turned kept college boy Evan.
Opening scenes of Evan swimming at the local public pool and not bothering to don a shirt on getting a ride home from affluent and relatively conservative live-in boyfriend Chris, who is roughly the same age as Chris, sett the tone for the film. The catalyst for the action soon comes (again, no pun intended) in the form of Evan insisting on stopping at a yard sale. He soon finds (and becomes obsessed with) both an old-style home-movie camera and the roughly 30 year-old films of Peter, who is the 40-something year-old son of the older man who is selling the items.
The predictable tension between Evan and Chris sets the stage for even more predictable events that begin with Evan meeting Peter and getting a job as his landscaper/pool boy. Peter telling Evan that he "can come once a week" and granting his request to use the pool should elicit laughs from anyone familiar with art house (as well as less respectable) gay cinema.
The pasts of Evan and Peter make their subsequent May-October relationship understandable. On the surface, the attraction of the former to the latter also reflects the reality that most of us are attracted to someone who is younger and cuter than us.
An unintentionally hilarious scene has long-haired not-so-bright Evan trying to fit in at a dinner party for the middle-aged friends of Peter, One can easily imagine our hero being seated at the children's table.
Not quite doe-eyed Hains does a good job conveying the vulnerability and unmet emotional needs of Evan. It is clear that both actor and character are more than a pretty face but need a little more maturing.
All of these elements combine for a pleasant viewing experience, especially as winter settles in across the U.S.
The special features include the interesting short documentary "Exploring the Surface." The scope of this includes some shifting of the actors and how the vision for the film becomes reality.
Anyone with questions or comments about "Surface" is welcome to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy,
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