For about the first twenty minutes I thought I was going to hate this movie, but it got better. Then it got better. Then it got even better, and it just kept on getting better all the way through to the end.I strongly disagree with reviewers who say the adult bookends are irrelevant and badly done. They provide an essential framework for the story. The adult actors are neither as attractive nor as talented as the younger leads are, but that's fine; they don't need to be.My only quibble - and it is a very minor quibble - is that the character of Henry is just too evil within the context of this movie. I know people like that exist, people who are so mean and so stupid that they would keep on smirking when the hero is having convulsions, but no other character in this movie is drawn with such unrelenting severity. He is so evil he ends up dragging the whole movie down in a way it doesn't need to be dragged down. I suppose his being so excessively monstrous adds extra weight to Danny's accusation that Carter hurt him even more than Henry did, but that accusation didn't need such heavy-handed reinforcement; it was powerful enough in itself.The direction, photography and screenplay could not be much better - an impressive debut for David Oliveras. All the performances are outstanding, particularly Tye Olson and Kyle Clare as Danny and Carter and Casey Kramer as Danny's mother. To paraphrase at least one other reviewer, she is the mother every gay man on earth dreams of. This is a lovely, believable, extremely well done movie.

This is a phenomenal and beautifully shot film about young gay romance. It is a gripping, dramatic, and moving portrayal of discovery and new love. I mean everything was utterly amazing: from the actors' performances (especially the Danny character), to the cinematography and even the haunting score playing all throughout. The movie is longer than most (almost 2 hours) but you honestly don't feel it because the story is so captivating and engaging. This is by far one of the best films ever made in this genre of gay themed dramas. There are scenes depicting sexuality with the unbelievably beautiful body of the swimmer character, but they are done tastefully and shot with an entrancing artistry. If there were Oscars for in-dies like this, I'd award it all the top honors. Highly recommended to the point I will compare all future films of the genre to this one! Truly a gay classic with an above average production value !

i was very moved by this film, it is tragic but with a hopeful ending as well. i felt the performances were very believable, the tender, sensitive Danny, (GREAT acting!) , the troubled, messed up carter, Danny's mother was great. as opposites attract, i liked the two opposites coming together, later on you just knew it was going to go wrong... carter's anger/feelings were heartbreaking, but from his point of view more or less understandable.some flaws: it was a bit unclear why *exactly* carter came to stay with Danny. a bit of a shady/forced explanation. and we never found out the reason for or manner in which carter died. but it was tragic. I liked the way the movie ended though, a positive note, ***Spoiler*** with Danny finally patching up his not so easy going new relationship with new boyfriend in the end. he had to let go of (dead ) carter in the end.yes, i think this is a believable gay drama and again , very touching. well done.

Why 'Watercolors' since the artist uses them in the film only in one occasion? Namely, at the end, gratuitously painting his lover's body, courtesy of Nipples&Close-up. If this was intended as an homage to body-painting, or the redeeming power of art I would not dare guess, but my bid is that is nausea-inducing to viewers that want something more than indulge into (their) two-dimensional melodramatic situations.Please name one sufficient reason you feel involved by the opening-night mini-drama. Do you get it with dramatically plausible foregrounding? I for one think that if this is not pulled through, in any film, it will not recover from its flaws. And this one does not.Tye Olson makes a decent effort, although he is dragged here and there by the melodrama of the situation. Yet, he seems alone in an unfortunate way: his 'lover' never shines through as an existing, separate character, he is a bunch of nervous reactions and frustration.No chemistry, either. At the point where one should see, if one had, the boys' love-making, one gets a gloriously shot ass, a semi-fantastic scene that suffers and is weighed down to earth from a sentimental piano. This is not two adolescents discovering the thrill of sexuality, it is menopause shining.The little dialogue between mother and son is perhaps the only point that really shines in the film, though it seems as a fragment from another one; and the casting of the younger and the elder artist is accurate, in terms of physiognomy."All bad poetry is sincere." Oscar WildeAn unfortunately sincere film.