Tuc Watkins (One Life to Live and Desperate Housewives) stars as Jonathan. He hires a male prostitute to recreate a road trip from his past but hopes for a happier ending this time.
On this Qreel Tuesday, director Nick Corporon, in his first feature film, delivers an absorbing and intriguing treatment in “Retake”.
“Retake” is an impressive road drama about a middle-aged gay man who hires a young hustler, Adam (Devon Graye), to join him on a life-changing ride to the Grand Canyon.
It’s not just an excursion. Jonathan is setting out on replay a decade-old trip he took with his ex-lover, Brandon (Andrew Asper, in flashback,) who broke his heart.
Jonathan has rules for his rent boy. Adam must wear Brandon’s clothes and cologne, ask no probing questions and adhere to a strict travel itinerary. Or as the Hollywood Reporter characterizes it, “to be, in effect, the callow young submissive to his stoic domineering daddy.”
This all gets upended as Adam unravels Jonathan’s agenda, loosens him up and demands more honesty. Adam has his own troubled past and begins to look at Jonathan as a fellow traveler on the same road with all of the tension, sexual and otherwise, that comes with it.
“Jonathan, a lonely middle-aged man, travels to San Francisco to find a young male companion. On the road, the prostitute comes to realize that he’s playing a vital role in the recreation of Jonathan’s lovelorn past. As the young man digs for clues, Jonathan insists that he stick to the role he was hired to for.
Slowly, the prostitute begins to piece together the identity of the person he’s playing. Eager to leave his own past behind and feeling a strange connection with his odd client, he sheds his own identity and plays the part. As the two get closer to the destination, their affection grows and an authentic relationship tries to break through.”
From award-winning features to captivating documentaries and progressive short films, Qreel provides a vast and constantly expanding library of queer cinema with new additions every week.
