Shadows on the Wall

High Tide

dir-scr Marco Calvani
prd Marco Calvani, Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon
with Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Bill Irwin, Marisa Tomei, Mya Taylor, Sean Mahon, Todd Flaherty, Karl Gregory, Joao Santos, Bryan Batt, Mark Meehan, Stephen Walker
release US 18.Oct.24,
UK Mar.25 flare
24/US 1h41

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With a lovely light touch, writer-director Marco Calvani takes an honest and unusually resonant look at the life of an immigrant. Gently tinged with issues relating to sexuality and race, the approach is knowingly realistic and also funny, emotional, sexy and surprising. Calvani also makes the most of the Massachusetts coastal setting, which is populated by recognisably authentic characters. And the observant acting and filmmaking make it memorable.

In Provincetown, Brazilian immigrant Lorenco (Pigossi) is coming back to life after an abrupt breakup. He lives in Scott's (Irwin) guesthouse and works as a cleaner. But his visa expires in a few months and he would rather not return to his homophobic home country. As he has a series of awkward sexual encounters, he meets Maurice (Bland) on the beach, and they find common ground in their experiences, building a tender intimacy between them. But Maurice is only on holiday, and Lorenco needs to find a way to see the future as something possible.

Thoughtfully paced with an emotive score, the film taps into Lorenco's feelings of loneliness. Meanwhile, the dialog sparkles with wit and authenticity, allowing hilarious pointed humour to emerge through the characters' personalities. And people along the way add wonderful textures, such as Miriam (Tomei), a free-spirited artist whose house Lorenco is painting, or Dimo (Santos), the sassy friend who works in a beachside restaurant.

Pigossi and Bland have terrific chemistry as men who find each other in an unexpected place. Their interaction is smart, tender, lusty and romantic, peppered with wonderful character details. Around them, the supporting roles are equally complex and engaging, including Irwin's helpful Scott, Tomei as the open-eyed Miriam, Lorenco's mercurial boss Bob (Mahon), Maurice's messy friend Crystal (Taylor) and Scott's leery old friend Todd (Batt).

Most impressive is how Calvani keeps everything so delicately balanced, never tipping over into sentimentality even as the dialog explores past events in the lives of these various people. Scott and Todd have a very different view of the gay subculture than Lorenco and Maurice do. And even Lorenco's visa issues don't play into the story in the expected ways. This is a fresh, original film that marks Calvani as a filmmaker to watch.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 22.Mar.25 flare

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