Redwoods (US 2009)

The Gist:
Everett (Brendon Bradley), is a man in a comfortable but stale relationship where he and his partner appear to be together more for their autistic son than for each other. While partner and son are away on a trip, Everett meets writer Chase (Matthew Montgomery) and the two develop an instant passionate emotional and physical attraction for each other. Will Everett abandon responsibilities and family for his soulmate?

Possibly spoiler-ish comments:
While it never quite reaches the level of "good" I liked the movie more than I did not. There's a core of potential in it, although if edited to remove the extraneous elements, it would be a very short story featuring pretty much only the leads and shots of the Redwoods. At times shots of trees and nature are the best thing going for the movie.

Which is harsher criticism than it deserves. Compared to other low budget movies, it is fairly well acted, not totally one dimensional, and makes good use of the Russian River locale.

The movie does deserve some credit. In order to ensure that Everett is not cast in any sort of negative light for wanting to jump on top of Matthew Montgomery, a less well done version would have gone for painting everything in stark black and white instead of gray, and cast Everett’s boyfriend as cruel instead of merely dull.

Having the son be autistic (at least I think he is supposed to be autistic) to add to Everett's internal conflict might be a bit over the top, but then again, maybe it was the easiest way of downplaying the option of simply breaking up and working out shared custody of their son.

The biggest problem with the movie though is the ending, which nearly negates everything I wrote implying that the movie was not overly simplistic. I won't spoil it, but it goes way too far into "wrap everything up and put a bow on top" territory taking it from what could be real life into movie drama land.

While not a great movie, it is fine for what it is, a fairly low budget gay flick that tells a story where people just happen to be gay instead of a "gay story."

Women:
A few minor roles of mother, friend, and cousin. Considering that the movie is very sparsely populated (other than the two leads there's barely anyone else in it) this isn't too bad.

People of color:
Seems the Russian River area is all white.

Gratuitous nudity:
A couple of full frontal shots (not of the leads) that having nothing to do with the story or plot and are little more than distractions that pull you out of the movie. There's also a quick flash of flesh that depending on your attitude towards showing skin during love scenes may or may not count as gratuitous.

• Director: David Lewis
• Writer: David Lewis
• Actors: Matthew Montgomery, Brendon Bradley
• 82 min
• IMDB