GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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Finding Me TLA Releasing,
Director/Screenplay:
Starring: Unrated, 115 minutes |
Finding
Faybien
Finding Me is a new independent film, by first time writer/director Roger S. Omeus Jr., that examines queer identity from an African American perspective. RayMartell Moore stars as Faybien Allen, a young gay man of Haitian descent, who doesn't know who he is and questions his place in the cosmos. Faybien is a major league slacker who still lives at home with his father and works at a dead end job selling shoes. His father is a nasty man who berates his son's lack of ambition whenever he can; his temperament is established in the very first scene when Faybien oversleeps and is late for a job interview. He is also fiercely homophobic and Faybien is afraid of him. While trying to prove to his old man that he can make something of his life, he remains locked in a closet of his own making. |
 Finding
no love at home, Faybien - like many gay men and women in the same situation
- creates an alternative family through his friends. Greg Marsh (Eugene
Turner) is a free-spirited bisexual, with a preference for men, whose main
focus in life seems to be his next lay. Amera Jones (J'Nara Corbin) is a
sassy, aspiring singer who has dubbed herself an honorary gay man. Though
she has a big heart, her diva-like tantrums provide much of the film's comedy.
Jay Timber (Maurice Murrell) is Greg's new lodger. A flamboyant but seedy
character, Jay is turning tricks in the apartment behind his roommate's
back; he is generally a bitch and delights in causing trouble. He is everything
that Faybien fears that he might become if he doesn't get his act together.
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 Finding
Me is
a cute love story. Our young sweethearts enjoy many romantic, and steamy,
scenes together. The chemistry is there so why does Faybien keep playing
hard to get throughout the whole movie? Faybien the shoe salesman thinks
that he isn't good enough for the more successful Lonnie, and he is unable
to get it into his thick head that his beau doesn't care. Initially, Faybien
doesn't return Lonnie's calls; he avoids him in a bar when he is out with
his friends; frets about having sex with him; and then, when he does
have sex with him, he thinks it can't be love because they didn't wait
longer. At first it's cute, but then you want to smack Faybien upside the
head and tell him to stop obsessing and just go for it. |
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 Lonnie's
comfort level with being gay does little to help Faybien's feelings of self
acceptance either. A terrified Faybien pushes Lonnie's arm away when they
walk through the hood. This was an honest and realistic scene. "Who is doing
this to you?" Lonnie asks and the answer boils down to Faybien wanting to
be accepted by both his father and by the black community. With
his father comes a double whammy - Dad comes from "the islands"
where anti-gay bigotry is known to be virulent. Lonnie's symplistic, yet
nevertheless heartfelt, answer is for his timid boyfriend to scream "accept
me!" from a hill that overlooks his neighborhood. Faybien does so, but
remarks that he feels like he's in a Spike Lee movie. |
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 This
film offers a few interesting twists on sexuality. During a catfight between
Faybien's friends, Amera "insults" Greg by calling him a bisexual. Her rationale
for using that word is that Greg is unable to commit to anything - including
a gender. Later on, Faybien is about to interview for a job and he is sitting
next to another man of color who is even less prepared than he is. The young
man casually remarks that is brother is gay but explains that he doesn't
identify himself by that word - he is SGL: Same Gender Loving. |
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 This
writer found it quite agreeable to be watching a queer Black film
for a change. Let's face it, most of the new American releases that I get
to review tend to be strictly Caucasian (with a token Black, Latino or Asian
friend sometimes thrown in for good measure). Finding
Me is a pleasant diversion but, unfortunately, it could also
use some serious editing. For starters, the film is too long. The dialogue
often rambles and many scenes need to be tightened. The previously cited
catfight between Amera and Greg comes dangerously close to turning into
a 1970s sitcom. The camerawork and editing is a little rough but, as I've
written before, I can't hold a small budget labor of love to the same production
standards as a Steven Spielberg film. In the plus column, the movie is smartly
acted by the principals and all of them are likable. The movie is also blissfully
free of both rap and club music, and opts for a fairly unobtrusive elevator
style of R&B tunes. |
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 In
closing, Finding Me doesn't
really break a lot of new ground but it has much to say about what it means
to be queer and coloured, and it was a refreshing reminder that not every
gay person in the world is out and proud and being fabulous. The film gets
points too for not tying up all the plot strands into a nice ribbon, and
for not ending the way that I thought it would. Director Omeus isn't Spike
Lee, or Sidney Potier, but give him some time to hone his craft. With a
little more focus and some judicious cutting his next film should be a powerhouse.
All quibbles aside, Finding Me
is a worthwhile film to curl up with on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn
and your loved one. |
Faybien
has a chance for love when he meets Lonnie Wilson (Rasheed Thompson),
a young, workaholic businessman and political activist. They meet cute
one day at a bus station and seem perfect for each other, if only Faybien
would get over his self-esteem issues. Lonnie is openly gay and attempts
to help Faybien conquer his fears and come out of the closet.