An L.A. sex cam performer, who goes by the name “Aaron Eagle,” is offered $50,00 by a client to spend a night with him in director Elliot Tuttle’s deeply unsettling chamber piece, showcasing two fearless and brilliant performances by Kieron Moore and Reed Birney.
Both men are wearing masks. Alex (Kieron Moore) is in full alpha, sexually aggressive, mode as “Aaron Eagle” when he appears at the door of the L.A. rental. Hank (Reed Birney) is actually wearing a ski mask when he invites “Aaron” in, offers him a beer and asks him to strip down on the couch in front of a video camera. But his questions rattle “Aaron” who threatens to leave when Hank reveals he was actually Alex’s English teacher in Maine when he was 12. Hank also was subsequently arrested as a pedophile and spent 7 years in prison. Hank admits he was always in love with Alex then and has spent every cent he has to spend one night with him.
Alex, relaxes and gets slightly more comfortable. Yet he tries desperately to keeps his arrogant, alter ego “Aaron Eagle” persona that he has on camera, teasing his viewers about how hot his ass is while firing off homophobic slurs to show who’s boss. He confesses to Hank that “the art of domination is spiritual” in his mind, and his armor against the unforgiving world. Hank on the other hand is surprisingly brutally honest about his unnatural desires. “I’ve always known it was wrong,” he confesses and has tried to maintain a simple, religiously circumspect life ever since. But he has always been haunted by Alex and admits, “I want to know if I still love you.”
What makes this film so riveting are the two towering performances by the leads. Reed Birney gives a moving and disturbing turn as Hank, and Kieron Moore’s brooding, sexy and ultimately heartbreaking portrayal of Alex haunted me for days afterwards.
For me, the best movies shake me up, pull the rug out from underneath me. Expose me to people and situations in unexpected, unfamiliar ways. This movie checks all those boxes, and then some. It’s profoundly disturbing in many ways, but also erotically charged and emotionally devastating. And not easy to shake off.
Blue Film opens in NYC on May 8th at IFC Center (323 6th Ave.)
