Mfi 18.2004»
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Cultural divide
Both men note that many of the lead char
acter’s actions on his mission would be very dif
ficult, if not imposible. “A s 1 watched the
film— and 1 served a two-year mission— I kept
repeating the phrase ‘possible but unlikely,’ ”
continues Giles, who says Aaron would not
“have been alone with [the character) Christ
ian again and again— missionaries have rules
about being together with their companions.”
Absolutely, agrees Fales. “ Having served
ven with being excommunicated from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
in Mormon missions, there were some very
implausible scenarios
Steven Fales thinks
C. Jay Cox’s depiction
there..
.some chance
*
meetings I don’t think
of the religion in his new
film Latter Days is harsh.
would have happened...
knowing how regulated
“It didn’t represent the
culture,” explains the gay
the culture is.”
Portland artist, whose one-
Still, both men are glad
man show Confessions of a
Cox, who is a former Mor
mon, made Latter Days.
Mormon Boy will enjoy a
run next month at Holly
Fales points out that Jewish
wood Theatre.
playwright Tony Kushner
(who represents Mormon-
“Having been excom
ism in Angels m America)
municated,” he continues,
“took a whole culture [and]
“his church court and my
did
whatever he wanted to
church court did not look
—Steven Fales
make his political points.”
the same at all. He really
Cox, he says, “was brought up LDS; he did do a
vilified the Mormon culture.”
mission. I think it’s really great that Mormon
His sentiments are echoed by Jason Lloyd
writers are telling our story.”
Giles, member of the Portland gay Mormon
“1 really did like it overall, and I’m glad it
social and support group Affirmation. “There
would have been much more sadness and com
was made,” says Giles. “It certainly brings to
passion on the faces of the brethren, and they
light.. .the struggles that gay Mormons face still
i would have talked a lot about repenting and
today.... Plus, the two leads were hot.”
working to one day get rebaptized.”
— LB J R
Portlanders disappointed
with Mormon depiction
in L atter Days
E
Having been
excommunicated,
his church court
and m y church
court did not look
the same at all. He
really vilified the
Mormon culture.”
i mssmi
one-night stands, what possibilities lie here.
get about him— focusing instead on the maudlin
Christian, who is finding himself with, of course,
What a bummer so few of them materialize.
a wise-beyond-his-years AIDS patient (ER’s Erik
We can’t blame the actors, who also include
Palladino, who really does give his all).
a well-cast Jacqueline Bisset as the restaurant
owner and Mary Kay Place as Aaron’s mom.
The artifice just piles up from there, culmi
It’s all about the script and the directing— or
nating in a sudden surreal shot of Aaron hav
the lack thereof. It’s all about C. Jay Cox.
ing visions of himself crucified and bleeding
Having been a Mormon missionary himself
down onto himself in bed & la the rehab scene
from Trainspotting — which actually would have
before he left the church, the director says he
wanted to put his two lives— his former and his I been effective had the film given us any pre
current self— in the same room and see what
cursor to this kind of imagery and not simply
they would say to each other. One wonders,
seem to have injected it in a “This is so cool
then, if C ox’s life is made up of silly, impulsive | just like in Trainspotting' kind of way.
dialogue, contrived “miracles” and confusing
Cox does apply a beautifully spiritual mean
changes of style.
ing to Aaron’s theory that the closer you are to
a situation, the more difficult it can be to com
Despite the chemistry and some genuinely
amusing exchanges— as when Christian, refer
prehend, but he fails to illustrate the very real
encing the other Mormons’ negative reactions
conflict within the Mormon church over
to catching him and Aaron kissing, laments
homosexuality and changing generational atti
“We didn’t even get to use our tongues”— not a tu d e s. He also fails to give Christian more than
a Band-Aid approach to healing and change.
one of the characters in Latter Days is frilly real
ized. Aaron comes the closest to real character
The gixxJ news and the real success of Latter
Days is the introduction of Sandvoss to the movie
development, but he is found out, shuttled
industry. It’s hard to believe this is his first film,
home, excommunicated and placed into repara
and I can’t wait to see him onscreen again. J H
tive therapy so quickly, the movie seems to for
I V
I E
I M
.tale responsibility for their o n erotic éducation.
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