'Sunburn' DVD: Portuguese-Style Woody Allen

The TLA Releasing April 23, 2019 DVD release of the 2018 drama "Sunburn" allows cinephiles to get a sense of the type of movie that Woody Allen would have made if he was born in the '70s and was Portuguese. The twist in this tale of yuppies with a long mutual history enjoying a weekend retreat at a vacation home  is that an unwelcome guest has made the rounds of the group. 

Filmmaker Vasco is hosting current significant other Joana and gay couple Francisco and Simaio for a few days of dancing, drinking, and lounging by the pool at his gorgeous home in the country. An opening scene in which the group comfortably and frequently trades off dance partners shows that all currently is well.

The trouble in paradise begins with a dramatically ignored call by "the one who got away" David. The persistence of this interloper leads to his wrangling an invitation to join the festivities. The rest of the film revolves around trauma and drama associated with the expected arrival of this man who has neither been seen nor heard from in a decade.

The raw nerves spoil the party as the folks who were in the arms of each other now are at the throats of each other. Much of this relates to the current relationships being rebounds from the post-David era of the one from whom he got away. 

David represents one of an apparently few occasions on which Vasco plays for the other team; the subsequent events this time lead to Vasco and Francisco actually exchanging blows. This relates to Francisco playing the role of the younger and the cuter trophy member of the gang, who never fully achieves inner-circle status.

The history between David and Joana also indicates that he is a switch-hitter. The drama there extends beyond David leaving an unwanted parting gift on hitting and quitting it. This experience apparently is behind a failure of Joana and Vasco to take their relationship to the next level.

For his part, Francisco receives confirmation that he is not the soulmate of Simaio; it seems as well that Simaio has the role of younger and cuter in his relationship with David.

The angst of Francisco coming out in the one soft-core scene in "Sunburn" provides a film highlight. One hint is that this encounter both gives him a chance to be the older and less cute member of the couple and shows that giving some guys what they want essentially requires making them shut up and take it like a man despite assertions that they are not into that kind of stuff.

This "day in the life" film bring us to 24-hours after the opening scene. All are a little older, much wiser, but not necessarily more happy. The same is true of the audience, which learns the lessons of the characters and discovers the full meaning of the title of the film.