Steel

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source: Steel

I loved it, one of my favorite movies for sure. Chad Connell played his role very well and suited the character greatly. In general the whole story is based on him and his mental/psycho situation. I loved Alexander character as well, it's catchy and gave a sense to everything. One of my favorite movies and watched it 12 times till now. Great Work

I have never watched a movie in my life with this much music throughout it. It was one long continuous score! It was overly dramatic as well. It would be appropriate at an orchestra event, but not for this film. The whole story could have been told in 30 minutes. There was so much dead air and unnecessary montages. On a positive note, the set decorator and production designer did a good job.

I believe this film is worthy of so much appreciation by many men struggling with their identity and truth. How informative, challenging, encouraging!

This is a hard watch it is about some TV presenter called Daniel who goes a little bit weird at the same time that a cutesie twink decides to enter his life. This is Alexander played by, the unfortunately named, David Cameron. He has all the emotional development of a three month old puppy. They do some 'getting it on' and have a few dramas as the musical score goes off on o0ne seemingly having been penned for a different film – one that was probably watchable. This was one of those films that I tried to find something to like. The boys are good looking, but constantly pad about the place wearing as little as possible or as tight as possible – I mean cliché central or what. The dialogue was turgid, the acting almost painful and the plot so bewilderingly pointless that I kept saying – who would really care? Only see if you like a soft porno with acting of a similar calibre – truly bad.

Here we have a gay paranormal story about a hot, successful talk show host who becomes disabled with panic attacks, which stem from a childhood trauma. Lead actor offers a convincing portrayal. Music was a bit too dramatic in some of the early scenes showcasing the panic attacks. Basically, the actor didn't have to act because the music was conveying the "angst" for him. Would love to have seen Mr. Connell in a real gay romance....something that hasn't been done yet. You know...two career minded, wholesome, mature, masculine gay men who happen to fall in love. Don't need to see a lot of skin or the typical bathing/swimming in dirty water. And no smoking, snorting crack or vomiting alcohol....puh-lease!!

Here's the set-up: Daniel, played by Chad Connell, is a successful TV career anchor who suddenly finds himself in a panic disorder. What is happening? Then comes along the mysterious but most sexy Alexander. Alexander takes control of Daniel's life (slowly) and by movie's end ole Daniel is back to his normal self. Here's my interpretation of the plot.- Daniel is crushed emotionally in a midlife crises and he regrets his lost youth and all it could have offered him because he focused himself on his career and suppressed his emotions. Alexander is Daniel's imaginary self and what he wishes it to have been in his lost youth. The sex scenes are just Daniel's * to what he thinks he could have been. At plots end Alexander disappears because ole Daniel has come to terms with himself and realize youth is gone and it's best to get on with his life. As I stated it's just my interpretation of the movie. So la-te-da !

I wasn't expecting to like this movie much so the fact that I love it speaks volume. The story pulled me in and even though the plot twist at the end which I won't reveal (spoiled in other reviews anway) isn't as well executed as one might hope, it still took me by surprise and felt satisfying. The acting by lead actor Chad Connell as Daniel is by far the best aspect as he delivers a solid and restrained, subtle yet effective performance as a tormented gay man trying to come to grips with his reality. The worst aspect is David Cameron as Alexander who gives a jittery and nervous performance often sounding fake and not really convincing yet he doesn't hurt the movie as much as he could have because he has a fair chemistry with Daniel. Yet this makes me wonder how even better the movie could have been with a different actor. The cinematography, the direction and the editing were all very good and I really liked that they succeed in showing us how Daniel perceives the world by using different technical tricks and just how conflicted the character is with the actor making the pain and confusion palpable. I first wanted to give this 7 stars but had to deduct 1 for the acting of Cameron yet Connell's performance elevates the movie so much that I added back 2 stars for a strong final rating of 8. This is by no means a perfect movie nor will it entice everyone watching, some might find it too slow and convoluted and yes, there are some scenes that made me cringe (mostly because of the Alexander character) but overall I really enjoyed it. Somehow the story stayed with me which is always a good sign that a movie achieved what it set out to do, entertain yet touch us in a way that might make a difference. Very well done and I highly recommend it.

You really can tell a Canadian indie movie; there's always that overriding vernier of slow-pace coupled with extremely bad bed music. This writing and plot is very weak, and the entire story could have been told in 30 minutes; enough time to expose and resolve the lead character's entire background story, add in a few tawdry gratuitous sex scenes...and yeah, that's pretty much it. The long pan-outs of scenery and mugging for the camera are beyond superfluous. And without spoilers, I pretty much "got" who Alexander was after their third interaction (yes...it was that predictable). The one good thing I can say is the filmography is well done and ranges from the hand-held/shaky technique to give the air of tension to some very elaborate shots which must have required some expensive equipment. In fact, I seriously don't know how the producer got the money to create this movie with such polish (then again, this is a Canadian film, so I'm sure they got a public grant for their required quota of gay films per year). If you have an hour to kill, watch this movie with a remote control so you can fast-forward through the slow parts...you'll need it.