Akron

"Akron," a medium-sized city in Ohio, is not known for much outside of a failing industrial economy. And you certainly wouldn't associate it with young gay love. But the film makes all its points intelligently and sweetly.

College freshman Benny (Matthew Frias), a cute Latino lad, has the courage to cute-cruise another student, Christopher (Edmund Donovan), after a football game. They begin dating and soon enough, commit, with strong family support on both sides. But then the past, as often happens, interferes, threatening family-relations, and their particular relationship.

The film is logical, charming, and full of small surprises, gently positioning LGBTQ rights, even in beautifully-shot Trump country (the excellent cinematography is by Patrick Jordan).

So, while plot per-se isn't the strongest element of this film, the directorial style is, allowing emotional rises-and-falls to lead us into deeper involvement with the storyline.

What is surprising about such a low-budget film is just how well it all works. Co-directors Brian O'Donnell (American) and Sasha King (Irish) have taken a not-so-original coming-out story and put a fresh lick of paint to make it a beautiful ride. O'Donnell's writing certainly lays the groundwork for the sensitive direction that illuminates his emotional points.

The cast is deeply committed to making this superlative film come alive, beginning with the two leads, Frias and Donovan. Whatever their own sexual orientations matters not as they meet the characters' needs, including the physicality. (Little nudity, interestingly, which may be the immediate and regrettable future of gay film.)

The parents, Andrea Burns and Joseph Melendez of Benny, and Amy da Luz as Christopher's mother, really make the heartache and the love for their sons alive and realistic. And so is everyone else in the cast.

This is a remarkable film, fun and involving, which means it belongs in every library collection around the country.

"Akron"
www.wolfevideo.com
$19.95