I recently re-saw this some years after my first viewing, and in spite of its humble mission and budget, it's still arresting and touching. A mere plot summary does not do justice to the excellent acting, the thoughtful details and dry British wit that bubbles throughout. I highly recommend it to anyone who cares about stories based on clever scripts, great acting and real characters... and especially if you value the stories of the closeted gays who lived among us. I would give it a 9 or 10 if it did not provide some strange side trip details that don't add much except minutes to the consistency of the whole. Small complaint for a strong movie. Impress your friends/lovers with this one, almost no one has seen it in the States, I bet.

Love and Death on Long Island (1997): Dir: Richard Kwietniowski / Cast: John Hurt, Jason Priestley, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock, Maury Chaykin: Intriguing film that examines the longing for youth. John Hurt plays a professor who attends the film College Hot Pants 2 so that he may gaze at Jason Priestley. He wishes to view these films privately but being out of touch with life has him searching a V.C.R where microwaves are for sale. He vacations to Long Island where he rents a room and stalks the star's home. He eventually meets Priestley when he encounters his fiancée. It is not clear what Hurt's intentions are and the conclusion provides no answer but it is a fascinating character study. Sharp directing by Richard Kwietniowski with a flawless performance by Hurt as a man bent on seeing his youth relived. Priestley is effective as his inspiration who takes great compliment to the attention given from this stranger yet for both he and his fiancé frustration will dawn. Fiona Loewi plays his fiancé who encounters Hurt at the supermarket . Other roles are not as broad and seen mainly as brief appearances, which is unfortunate since the casting here is quite ambitious compared to other films within the like. While the narrative isn't totally clear, it is likely that the theme regards obsession and youth and our longing for a rerun of past emotions and memories. Score: 7 ½ / 10

John Hurt is understated and quite funny as a repressed British author, who, on one quiet evening happens to rent "Hot Pants College" starring Jason Priestley as Ronnie Bostock.The premise sounds silly and under-developed, but it isn't. John Hurt perfects the role, and becomes an aficionado of Ronnie Bostock's film "career" eventually learning that Bostock lives on "Chesterfield" Long Island, a fictional NY suburb.He decides to visit, and help Bostock develop his career. Hurt is hysterical, as a capable Shakespearean actor quoting Walt Whitman, and educating Priestley as to what film roles he should take. Jason Priestley is also pretty funny, trying to get decent film roles as an American is not easy-..."he's so sick of playing stupid kids"... (his girlfriend whines).John Hurt also makes a few endeavors to get Priestley to relocate to London- ..."you know Rimbaud and his patron/lover Paul Verlaine had quite a successful partnership"... Priestley thinks that Rimbaud is "Rambo"- if you don't get the joke, then you have the same problems Ronnie Bostock/Priestley has.At any rate, this film is worth viewing. Intelligent and funny. 8/10.

A carefully directed, although too slowly paced drama with a difference, it is not nearly perfect, but some interesting ideas and an effective performance from Jason Priestley are able to keep it afloat. There is too much time dedicated to Hurt alone on screen, as his fish-out-of-water scenes are dry and unoriginal. However, the final third of the film, when Hurt and Priestley meet, is definitely worth watching for, as the film starts to head into some original territory. Hurt is reasonably good, though not nearly as great as Priestley is, and the film has a few interesting things to say. It is hard to call this a good film as such - but it is certainly easy to recommend it for having interesting elements.