Last night I went to see Gun Hill Road , a 2011 Sundance Grand Jury Nominated film directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green, set in the gritty suburbs of the Bronx. At its core, the film is about the broken relationship between father and son, framed within the less commonly explored issue of transgender intolerance.
The brief synopsis: After 3 years in prison, Enrique (Esai Morales) returns home to find his whole world has changed: his wife, Angela (Judy Reyes) has been having an affair, and his son Michael (Harmony Santana) is in a state of sexual transition that he can not comprehend. We as the audience witness Michael’s sexual awakening and the pain of the strained relationship with his father, and Enrique’s struggle to reconcile the past with the present and put aside his masculine ideals to truly see Michael for who he is.
I was engrossed in the story for the duration of the film, and was only slightly put off by some rather shaky hand held camera work. Overall it was a well crafted low budget feature. But, be warned, you will not walk out of the cinema feeling happy and light.
