hughman55
Bill Sherwood made one film in his short life. Fortunately for us, it was this one, "Parting Glances". This brilliant, overachieving little film, is about three people and two relationships. Michael is at the center of both. Michael and Robert are going to "part" in 24 hours after being together for more than five years. There is a mystery surrounding why. They are still very much in love, share a healthy and beautiful amount of intimacy during the 48 hours this film spans, have a great home together, and receive loving support from numerous and various friends and co-workers. So, why is Robert moving to Africa for two years to work for the World Health Organization? The answer, it turns out, is complex. Enter Nick, the doe eyed, voluptuous lipped, silky haired, ex-boyfriend of Michael, played brilliantly by Steve Buscemi.Without spoiling the skillful, and overwhelmingly human, unfolding of this riddle, let me just say that Nick and Michael shared a youthful past that is heartbreaking because sometime in the near future only one of them will still be around. They were once a couple. But it was at a time in their lives when at least one of them wasn't ready to settle down. They enjoyed mischief, carelessness, and each other at a time when everything was new and the world had no boundaries. Their lives during that time is shown in pieces as flashbacks. The flashbacks are the thoughts, memories, and overpowering feelings, that they carry with them still. They appear in dreams while napping. Or, when Michael looks at a photo series of boardwalks on Fire Island; a place where they literally "spent" their youth. There are many very subtle, but very moving and revealing, moments in this film. None more than when Nick (Steve Buscemi) sits on Michael's lap, looks him straight in the eye, and as he draws his fingers over his lips, mouths the words, "I love you". And your heart drops into your stomach...But Nick and Michael haven't been together for more than five years because Michael and Robert are a firmly established couple and seemingly happy. So, why the split? That's the crux of this film. This film is about the complexities of love and relationships. Love tests the limits of everyone who goes near it. Some can handle it. Some struggle. Robert is struggling and he wants a "break because things have become predictable". Ever heard that one before? Of course it's BS, but how the truth is parsed out over 90 minutes is what makes "Parting Glances" a wonderful film that aims at the heart and hits a bullseye. This film was made before the internet existed, before computers, cell phones, texting, Grinder, apps, laptops, modems, halogen light bulbs, and even CD's. When this film was made people still spoke on land line phones with rotary dials, played vinyl records on a turntable to hear music, used pay phones, and the yellow pages. And to see Africa on a map you had to open a World Atlas book that was the size of a breakfast table. And yet, it is a very modern film. And it endures today because of its humanity which will outlive anything we invent next. At our core, we still want our hearts to be touched and this film does that. In a scene that takes place in a stairwell there is a conversation between Nick, who has seen it all, and a young gay man who is seeing it all for the first time. The polarity in that scene, and between these two lives, a young man who is staring down the end of his young life, and a younger who man who is staring wild eyed into the future is unforgettable. And it is just one of many unforgettable moments in this powerful little film.It is impossible to overstate two things. One is the incredible talent of Bill Sherwood who wrote, directed, edited, and scored this film. God bless him, he had something he wanted to say before he left this world in his thirties, and he said it. "Parting Glances" is one of the best films ever made that deals with the complexities, and ordinariness, of people who are, incidentally, gay. The other is Steve Buscemi who's previous film roles, immediately prior to "Parting Glances", was "Dead Pimp" in "No Picnic" (1986). I haven't seen "No Picnic" but it kinda sounds like he didn't even have a line in it. In this film, however, he owns the role of Nick with a "half past give a crap" attitude that masks his fear over the loss he knows he's about to experience. He is sweet, touching, charming, desirable, and a smart ass. It is a Steve Buscemi that we never saw again. But his talent can't be missed and this role is unlike anything he did after. Watch this film. I saw it for the first time in the mid 80's and have come back to it again and again over the years. It has aged very well. Its basic humanity, and story about love, will never die. And maybe that was why Bill Sherwood gave us this treasure. So that we would never forget what this is all supposed to be about. Spoiler alert: stop reading if you haven't seen it yet. It all ends well.
mark.waltz
Forget about "Making Love", "Cruising" and "Partners". "Parting Glances" is where real gay filmmakers began putting their ideas onto screen, much like writers had been doing on stage for years. "Parting Glances" is set in Manhattan where two lovers (Richard Ganoung and John Bolger) prepare to part while Bolger goes overseas on a long business venture. Ganoung's ex-lover (Steve Buscemi, in his break-out role) is HIV positive and possibly dying, and Bolger knows that he risks loosing Ganoung while he's gone. A group of their friends (hosted by "The Drew Carey Show's" Kathy Kinney, as far from Mimi here as she can be) show up for a surprise farewell party in her SoHo apartment, and like the party of "Boys in the Band" and those in gay cult classics "Auntie Mame" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's", will be unforgettable.It is here where the audience meets all sorts of gay prototypes, from a former priest still to shy to fully accept his homosexuality, the cute "twink" record store clerk with a crush on Ganoung, the wealthy but overweight queen who seems to "buy" companionship, and the various artistic types, both straight and gay, who interject some minor conflicts into the proceedings. There's also a visit to a Chelsea Club where the music of Bronski Beat is heard in the background to give the film a true 80's feel.The film has some very slow moments (particularly a dinner party with Bolger's boss and his wife) which are important in setting up various plot elements, but once you get to Kinney's party, its all set to go. Kinney is unforgettable, her warm-hearted pal so comfortable that you long to have her in your own circle. (I can say, having met Ms. Kinney, that this is very close to her own personality rather than the obnoxious, overly mascara'd Mimi). Bolger, best known for his long-term roles on half a dozen soaps (he'd just come off of "Guiding Light" as Philip Spaulding), adds charm to his "Ken Doll" character, while Ganoung and Buscemi really do sparkle together in their prankish scenes as the still friendly ex's. (Their revenge against the portly queen in one of the final scenes is hysterical, even if it is a bit cruel spirited...) This film for me had a very special meaning in the mid 1980's as it gave me the courage to open up to myself the truth of my own sexuality, and I'm sure it had the same influence on others afraid to come out during the early years of HIV. The issue is strongly dealt with through Ganoung's character who vows to fight Washington while dealing with his knowledge that Buscemi might succumb to AIDS eventually. These characters are really identifiable in the gay world of Manhattan (pre-technology obsessed), and as a film, this remains an important piece of art that has now become a gay classic.
burghbill
I saw this film shortly after its release and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I went so far as to arrange the Central PA premiere as part of an arts festival in State College, PA. The film resonates with me in many ways, but none so much (and to this day, 2 decades later it brings me to tears) when one character says that the other's beloved has left town and the other says, no, the beloved is YOU. Brilliant and so telling of relationships gay, straight and in between. You cannot be a living, breathing, LOVING human being and NOT see the universality in this film. Also, the depiction of life in NYC in the mid-80s is dead on, much like Ethan Mordden's "I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore" series. A slice of life that no longer exists is well represented here. Any one who was out in the 1980s will acknowledge that this is how the "scene" played out for many people.
