Writer: Paul Marcarelli
Genre: Drama
2.5 Cookies
The Green is probably a movie you will
never see. After playing at a large number of film festivals in 2011, the
producers have decided to forgo a theatrical release and release it straight to
Video on Demand, as well as other forums for home movie watching. In fact, I hadn’t even ever heard of
this movie before seeing it at the weekly independent film series that I attend
(New York Film Critics Host Coming Attractions). It also has a terribly awful,
ambiguous title, that is way too hard to find; when I searched “The Green” on
IMBD, multiple movies came up before the one I was looking for, including The Green Lantern, The Green Mile, The Green
Hornet, and Fried Green Tomatoes.
The subject matter
of The Green is a tough sell in and
of itself as the story centers around a gay relationship, with its focus on a
gay man, which is difficult to market unless you get to have Jake Gyllenhaal
and Heath Ledger on the poster. Starring the mostly unknown Jason Butler Harner
and Cheyenne Jackson, The Green does
not have the star power to make a movie about a gay man appeal to mainstream
audiences, which is a shame because this is actually a surprisingly good movie
with an important message.
Jason Butler
Harner plays Michael, a teacher at a suburban Connecticut private school, who
recently moved with his partner Daniel (Jackson) from New York City because
Michael “wanted to see green,” (you guessed it, that’s why it’s called The Green). When we meet Michael he has
already developed a close, but not inappropriate, relationship with a student
named Jason, who is having a tough time at school due to bullying and a
difficult home life. One night, after a school function, Michael sees Jason
being bullied in a hallway and when Michael goes to help Jason, Jason’s
mother’s homophobic boyfriend misconstrues Michael’s gesture of help for sexually
inappropriate conduct. Everything spins out of control very quickly and it’s
not long before Michael is forced to leave his job, has his house searched by
police, and loses his reputation in town.
Eventually Michael
hires a lawyer, who happens to be a lesbian to take on his case. Julia Ormond
plays the lawyer and I think she gives the weakest performance in the film.
Michael’s relationships with Daniel and other friends are endangered and an
event from Michael’s past comes back to haunt him. The story is engaging
throughout and there is a surprisingly intense climactic scene that I did not
see coming at all.
First time
director Steven Williford gets good performances from most of his cast,
especially the leads, as Butler Harner and Jackson are terrific in their roles.
Williford, who happens to be gay, also does a great job making the story feel
universal, so that everyone can relate to Michael’s struggles, not only a gay
audience. The film makes you think about certain prejudices you might have, and
whether or not our society is where it should be in terms of gay acceptance. We
are far from it, in my opinion, and I think in the opinion of the filmmakers as
well. Even using the words “gay acceptance” is degrading, as a scene in the
movie points out, because a gay couple shouldn’t have to be merely accepted or
tolerated, they should be looked upon like any other couple.
It is evident that
Williford is a first time director though, as certain scenes and shots in the
film aren’t as strong as they could be. Certain moments are overdramatized when
they should be downplayed, and moments that should be downplayed are overblown.
For the most part Williford does a good job playing with the tone of the film,
but there are moments when the tone and mood shifts unexpectedly when it
shouldn’t. Particularly, a storm scene near the end, where Michael is forced to
confront his fear of heights to fix a leaking roof feels melodramatic and
cheesy.
The screenplay was
written by Paul Marcarelli, who is famous for being the Verizon, “Can you hear
me now?” guy. It’s a good script, with decently drawn characters, and while certain
characters fall victim to cliché and stereotype, especially the homophobic
antagonist of the film, for the most part it’s strong. And Williford does a
pretty good job of taking Marcarelli’s words and putting them on screen.
It’s too bad more
people won’t see The Green because
it’s a good, albeit not great film, that could possibly teach people a thing or
two about homophobia in modern America. The 90-minute film is entertaining, for
the most part, and I think most people would be pleasantly surprised upon
watching it. Now, I don’t know if I’ll remember anything about this film a
month from now, but it’s certainly better than many of the movies that are
released nationwide and gross millions of dollars (I’m looking at you Johnny English Reborn and The Three Musketeers, which both come
out Friday and will no doubt be dreadful).
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