Fair Haven

Nineteen year old James's (Michael Grant) reward for his long stint at a gay conversion therapy course run by religious zealots is not good news. On his return home he is greeted by his father (Tom Wopat) who had forced him to go there in the first place, and who immediately tells him that all his college fund money was was spent on his mother's funeral expenses and the cost of his own therapy. His father adds that he now has no chance of attending the Music School in Boston that he was offered a place at, so James suggests that they sell the family's apple farm in Vermont to pay for his tuition.

James has no absolutely no intention of becoming a farmer, and is set on following his dream of becoming a concert pianist, but asides from this he seems to try to be his level best to be a good son maybe just to honor the memory of his mother. His compliance with the therapy and his willingness to agree to go on a (very chaste) date with the Pastor's daughter (Lisa Varga) is obviously to appease his father than rather please himself, and he positively freaks out when the girl tries to kiss him at the end of their circumspect date.

One day his father insists he drops a delivery of apples off to the local grocery store, and the door is opened by Charlie (Josh Green) his ex beau who immediately does all dewy eyed. James however is still in semi-robotic mode after his anti-gay therapy so he takes out his frustration on a poor bewildered Charlie, but a few days later when the poor lad is gay-bashed walking home for work, it is James who insists on playing gallant white knight and giving him a ride home every night so that he is safe. It of course doesn't stop just there, but when they finally get to make out (again) in the Farm's hay barn they are caught in a state of undress by an angry Pastor's daughter, which is witnessed by James's father too.

This well-meaning coming-of-age story from newbie director Kerstin Karlhuber is an interesting take on the whole conversion therapy subject, although aside from a few flashbacks, the focus here is not on the treatment itself but of its effects afterwards. It would probably have benefited from not being so obvious as to the story's conclusion quite so early on. Nevertheless some powerful performances from both the extremely talented young Michael Grant as James, and an unexpected delightful turn as the grumpy father struggling with his sexuality from Tom Wopat, made this a very likable drama.

DVD
Breaking Glass Pictures