Synopsis:
On Manhattan’s gilded Upper East Side, an impressionable young painter, Charlie (Jonathan Gordon), finds the man of his dreams in an older pianist from across the globe, Tim (Haaz Sleiman, ‘The Visitor”). Unfortunately, Charlie is also consumed with desire and love for his manipulative best friend, Sebastian (Jason Ralph, “The Magicians”), who is embroiled in a Bernie Madoff-esque family financial scandal. Sebastian’s coping mechanism is non-stop moneyed hedonism, and he insists Charlie join him on his self-destructive streak of sex, drinking and partying at his father’s massive penthouse. In the wake of Sebastian’s dangerous downward spiral, their tight-knit group of friends must confront the new realities of adulthood. Manhattan’s Upper East Side provides the backdrop for a riveting tale of entitlement, privilege, loyalty, and their complicated effect on a young man’s chance at love.
What We Thought:
Those People is a well acted and stylized film yet it moves quite slow at times.
It’s a character driven narrative about gay men in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The depth of the characters and dialogue spoken really gives you a sense of who these men are.
I think that’s what I liked most about the film, you really got an understanding of who they were. You don’t always get that. You usually get thrown into a story and have to run with it. Their interactions with each other and their friends really showcase their own unique personalities.
You understand how the scandal throws them into the next step of life. It can’t always be about partying, you have to be adults eventually. I thought it was handled well between the characters.
My biggest issue with the film is the pacing. At times it’s very slow. I thought the beginning was very slow. As the story unfolded and the love triangle came about, it did speed up a bit, but it was slow in the beginning.
The film is shot beautifully. The city of New York, the buildings, the restaurants, all shine and become characters themselves. The mix of the fancy high end world with characters living life really comes across brilliantly.
I can see a lot of people liking Those People. It’s one of the better character driven films I’ve seen in a while. Sometimes triangle stories lose focus on one person or another, but I think you got a feel of what was happening and why. It’s shot extremely well, I just wish it was a little faster. But I enjoyed it overall and because of that, it is…
RECOMMENDED!
Bonus Features
- Deleted Scene
- Audition Tapes
- Trailer
Cast & Crew:
- Jason Ralph
- Jonathan Gordon
- Haaz Sleiman
- Joey Kuhn
Recommended If You Like:
- New York Stories
- LGBT Films
The Nerds Templar 