Tag Archive: Ellen Page


THE LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME

Filed under: Books, Gender, Movies, Music, Politics — Leave a comment
February 16, 2014

THE LEATHER BOYS directed by Sidney J. Furie  (UK, 1964)

1964 The leather boys

The sixties might have swung for many but cinema’s representation of sexuality in this era was often anything but liberated.

The notion that sexual intercourse necessitates the removal of clothing is just one of the taboos filmmakers were reluctant to challenge.

An honest visual display of carnal lust and desire is controversial enough in straight relationships and is still more taboo when it comes to  homosexuality.

Even in our supposedly more enlightened 21st century, coming to terms with being gay can be unnecessarily traumatic. Ellen Page’s emotionally charged coming out speech is proof that this is still too often the “love that dare not speak its name”.

Mainstream cinema perpetuates negative attitudes by rarely treating same-sex relationships in an open or mature fashion.

The Leather Boys is regarded as an early example of ‘Queer Cinema’ and is unusual in that it tentatively tries to ‘normalise’ homosexuality instead of showing it as a threat to the moral wellbeing of society. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

HARD CANDY (the movie)

Filed under: Movies — Leave a comment
July 6, 2008

The advantage of anonymity in Internet chat rooms has, as any concerned parent will tell you, a downside, There may be relatively few incidents of paedophile stalkers on message boards but any that crop up get a high media profile. The risk for a film maker is to add to this flame fanning and raise the fear factor up a notch.

David Slade’s first feature puts a twist on the tale to guarantee word of mouth endorsements or misgivings – either way it becomes a movie to see to make up your own mind about (or if you’re lazy you could just read a synopsis on Wikipedia).

The extensive use of close ups, jump cuts and unusual camera angles have a deliberately disorientating effect – adding to the ambiguity of the character’s motives. Ellen Page as the 14 year old Hayley Stark is an impressive discovery – you’re left wondering if she is rebellious and daring or repellent and insane.

Slade is obviously a bold new talent too but I strongly suspect that here he is merely taking the low common denominator of sensationalism to make a name for himself.

The story makes for a gripping drama but it left me feeling that the movie exploits the grey areas of a topical issue for manipulative ends rather than to pose any serious moral questions and in this respect must go down as a missed opportunity.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment