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206 256-6622
( 503 ) 292-6464 ( 503 ) 636-6588 ( 503 ) 667-0354 ( 503 ) 363-7993
IN THE NAME OF LOVE
W E WILL RISK MANY THINGS
. . . E ven O ur O w n F lesh .
B eautiful T hing
S ecrets & L ies
Linda Henry, Glen Berry, Scott Neal
Directed by Hettie Macdonald
Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall, Marianne Jean-
Baptiste
Directed by Mike Leigh
B
ack in the fall of 1994, I visited my old
nd speaking of breakthrough British films,
student stomping ground (London), and
a longtime best-kept secret across the At­
friends dragged me out to see the latest hit
lantic has been the incredible films of Mike
gay-themed theater production. The first thing
Leigh (whose film Naked launched the career of
that surprised me was that unlike the usual gay
David Thewlis, last seen in The Island o f Dr.
review playing in the London equivalent of off-
Moreau—oops!). Anyway, unless you’ve been
living in a cave you’ve no doubt heard about
Leigh’s new film, Secrets & Lies, which won the
Palme d ’Or at Cannes and has made critics every­
where gush.
Here I am, adding my two cents. Secrets &
Lies, a film with no-name actors, a gritty, very un-
off Broadway—a pub— this show was right smack
Hollywood story, and a take on London that has
dab in the West End, doors from such opuses as
nothing
to do with either tourist sites or the Royal
Les Miz and Phantom. The next big surprise was
family, is a richly emotional and original film that
that the play dealt with the unabashedly erotic
shouldn’t be missed. Depressed after the death of
blossoming of love between two 16-year-old boys,
her adopted mother, a young black woman
both of whom live at home with their parents in a
searches for her birth mother, preparing for the
very working class environment— a council es­
worst but secretly hoping for some kind of recon­
tate (government subsidized housing, kind of like
ciliation with her past. Frustrated with the slow
the projects in New York). Altogether, it was
social services bureaucracy, she decides to take
unusual fare getting an unusual amount of atten­
things into her own hands and discovers her
tion.
mother is a poor, broken-down, lonely white
The name of this production was militantly
A
¡nenia
PORTLAND
OPERA
P R O U D L Y P R E S E N T E D BY
©
PHOTO BY PAUL
LLS. B A N K
Glen Berry as Jamie and Scott Neal as Stu in Beautiful Thing
THE MERCHANT
OF VENICE
Nov. 2, 4 , 6, and 9
Portland Civic Auditorium
Sung in French with Projected English Translations.
Shakespeare's great drama gives characters you've loved
a whole new voice. Set in the 1930s, this rarely produced work
comes to life amidst spectacular new sets and costumes
created in Portland Opera's design studios.
TICKET PRICES:
$24, $31, $36, $45, $54, $57, $60, $100
(all tickets subject to handling charge)
CHARGE BY PHONE!
(503) 241-1802 (Weekdays, 9-5)
(503) 790-ARTS (Evenings & Weekends)
Priority Seating and Discounts for Groups (10 or more), Call (503) 241-1407
Tickets at: Portland Opera, 1515 SW Morrison, Portland, OR 97205
All G.l. Joe's/Ticketmaster Outlets • PCPA on Broadway
Sponsored in part by:
U n it e d A i r l i n e s
titled Beautiful Thing (lest you think otherwise),
and it has now been made into a film (also already
a hit in London), which hits our shores this week.
The film version of Beautiful Thing follows the
play very closely and tells the story of Jamie, a
sensitive, athletically challenged blond-ish, blue­
eyed teen who lives alone with his ballsy, fire­
brand mother, Sandra. His neighbor Stu, unlike
Jamie, is popular in school, but his home life with
his barbaric, abusive father is his own secret hell.
Sandra takes pity on Stu and invites him to start
sleeping over in Jamie’s room, oblivious to the
boys’ growing attachment (pun intended). Mean­
while, Sandra (obviously the heart of the film) is
also working to get them out of the council estate,
a place where boredom and a way-too-close-for-
comfort proximity keeps everyone in everyone
else’s business. Sandra is also juggling her own
relationship, with a man 10 years her junior who
seems unprepared to take on the role of being
Jamie’s part-time father.
Beautiful Thing is well written (credit goes to
Jonathan Harvey, a 28-year-old gay prodigy),
with a believable plot and saucy dialogue. Al­
though the female characters sometimes walk a
thin line between superheroes and stereotypes,
Beautiful Thing is an original story making gay
life visible in another of its glorious and compli­
cated permutations. Advance word is also good
on the film’s soundtrack, which features a heavy
dose of the Mamas and the Papas. (Opens Friday,
Oct. 18, at the Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. in
Portland, fo r a three-week run. Call theater at
223-4515fo r show times and prices.)
woman on the verge of a major drinking problem.
After the shock wears off, the two agree to
meet and strike up a sweet and endearing relation­
ship that ultimately helps them both heal hurts
long buried in their pasts, but now the question
remains— how do they integrate each other into
their present lives when both women have kept
each other secret? The story plays out with a tense
and emotionally brutal but satisfying climax sure
to get a tear out of even the most hardened heart.
It’s a sure bet for a few Academy Award
nominations, so get over your fear of British
accents and be ahead of the Oscars game. (Opens
Friday, Oct. 18, at the Movie House, 1220 SW
Taylor St. in Portland. Call 225-5555, category
4609, fo r show times and prices.)
Q ueerwatch
Also in circulation is Spike Lee’s new movie,
Get on the Bus, about black men traveling to
Washington, D.C., for last year’s historical Mil­
lion Man March. Surprisingly, Lee, who has been
taken to task in the past for not-so-subtle
homophobia, presents two gay characters in this
film, and word has it they are both authentic and
positive. As you may recall, a coalition of gay
black men marched, providing some much-needed
media coverage of black and gay issues. (Now
playing at Lloyd Cinemas—225-5555, category
4600—and other Act III Theatres.)
Reviews by Cathay Che, who is a regular
contributor to POZ magazine and Time Out