''Gerontophilia'' is a 2013 Canadian romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto. Life and career LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...

"Bruce LaBruce's 'Gerontophilia' to Shoot This Summer Canada-Wide"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', May 22, 2012. and written by LaBruce and

Daniel Allen Cox Daniel Allen Cox (born February 3, 1976) is a Canadian author. Cox's novels ''Shuck and Krakow Melt'' were both finalists for the Lambda Literary Award and the ReLit Award. Life and career Cox was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he was ...

. The film had its world premiere in the Venice Days section at the

70th Venice International Film Festival The 70th annual Venice International Film Festival took place in Venice, Italy from 28 August to 7 September 2013. American film director William Friedkin was presented with a lifetime achievement award. Italian film director Bernardo Bertolucc ...

on August 28, 2013, and was screened in the Vanguard section at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

. Described as a gay ''

Harold and Maude ''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy–drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen ...

'', the film follows Lake, a young man who takes a job in a nursing home and develops a romantic and sexual attraction to Mr. Peabody, an elderly resident in the facility. Unlike most of LaBruce's earlier films, ''Gerontophilia'' is not sexually explicit; instead, LaBruce chose to adapt his traditional themes of sexual

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

into a film more palatable to a mainstream audience.

Synopsis

Lake is an 18-year-old college student who discovers that he has a romantic attraction to elderly men even though he is already in a relationship with his girlfriend Désirée. One day, he applies for a nursing job at a retirement home, where he meets a resident named Mr. Peabody, and the two of them become close friends. After a while, the two men develop a romantic and sexual relationship. After noticing that the residents are being overdosed on their medication by the employees, Lake decides to take Peabody off his daily medication and help him escape to a better place. This results in the two of them taking a cross-country road trip together that deepens their bond.

Cast

Walter Borden Walter Marven Borden, (born July 20, 1942) is a Canadian actor, poet and playwright. He is originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.Katie Boland Katie Boland (born 1987 or 1988) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, and producer. She began her career as a child actress in film and television and has since branched out into adult roles, in addition to writing, directing, and producing ...

as Désirée * Yardly Kavanagh as Nurse Baptiste * Shawn Campbell as Bradley Nelson * Jean-Alexandre Létourneau as Kevin * Dana Wright as Dina * Brian D. Wright as Mr. Guerrero

Production

intended to give ''Gerontophilia'' a 1970s atmosphere by shooting the film with an ARRI Alexa whilst using some Zeiss prime lenses from the era. The film received funding from both

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

and SODEC, as well as a

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign on Indiegogo.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film received a 48% approval rating, based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads, "''Gerontophilia''s handful of intriguing ideas are let down by tame execution and unconvincing acting that make the movie's premise feel creepy rather than original." Dave Croyle of ''Gay Essential'' called the film a "captivating story of love, loss, and personal exploration." Rakesh Ramchurn of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' commented, "It is rare that I would salute a predominantly underground director's move towards mainstream filmmaking, but by toning down the sex and nudity of his previous works, LaBruce has made a film that I hope will be enjoyed by wide audiences in the months to come."

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerontophilia 2013 films 2013 LGBT-related films 2013 romantic comedy-drama films 2010s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s French-language films Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama films Canadian LGBT-related films Canadian romantic comedy-drama films Coming-of-age romance films Crowdfunded films English-language Canadian films Films about interracial romance Films about old age Films directed by Bruce LaBruce Films shot in Montreal Gay-related films Indiegogo projects LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related romantic comedy-drama films Sexuality and age in fiction 2010s Canadian films