Those People

Joey Kuhn, previously known as a cinematographer, has given himself (and us) a treat-and-a-half with his first feature-length film as writer/director. In it, all his principal characters are in their mid-to-late 20s, but still think of themselves as younger and rich poseurs, all finely-clothed, seen at upscale eateries and drinkeries, and all of them aficionados of Gilbert & Sullivan.

Kuhn would seem to be a gay Whit Stillman, with his non-jaundiced view of The Upper Crust of the East Side of Manhattan, and with his characters all having forgivable flaws, if not by themselves, then by others.

In this quality story, a romantic triangle appears between Charlie (Jonathan Gordon), who is Jewish, Sebastian (Jason Ralph), a WASP, and Tim (Haaz Sleiman), a decade-older Lebanese Muslim, all three handsome and well-to-do. Charlie's a talented portraitist, Tim, a rising classical pianist, first seen playing piano in a metrosexual piano bar, and Sebastian having to live down his crooked father's Bernie Madoff-like thievery.

Charlie is gay, Sebastian is...versatile, I suppose, and Tim is also gay. The relationship develops between Charlie and Tim, as Charlie's fifteen-year-long love for Sebastian hasn't gone where he would want it to. But Sebastian is recovering from the scandal of his father (who has been given a life-sentence), and is too terrified to commit to being gay and acknowledging his love for Charlie.

So there we have a sophisticated -- and screwy -- love triangle. They also have other high-end friends, specifically Ursula (Britt Lower) and her best-friend/ possible love interest Wyatt (Chris Conroy), as well as hedge-fund climber London (Meghann Fahy), who's career is at negative odds as long as she hangs with the scandal-associated Sebastian.

Beautifully shot in Manhattan by Leonardo D'Antoni, in muted colors against dark backgrounds, sensitively edited by Sara Show, and subtly scored by Adam Chrystal, the film is magical, not limited by the extensive use of the famous songs of Gilbert & Sullivan, breathtakingly acted out by the principals, with a script that doesn't indulge in "ironic-detachment," but puts us deep into a difficult love-relationship, that doesn't end as we might expect it to.

It's a film worthy of many re-visits, so if you invest in it, it's because you'll find deeper meanings with each viewing.