''Minyan'' is a 2020 American LGBT-related coming-of-age

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written by

Eric Steel Eric Steel is an American filmmaker and producer, best known for his controversial 2006 documentary '' The Bridge''. Career ''The Bridge'' Steel's directorial debut was the 2006 documentary '' The Bridge''. After reading about efforts to place ...

and Daniel Pearle. It was directed by Eric Steel, in his feature film debut. It is based on a short story of the same name by David Bezmozgis. The film stars Samuel H. Levine,

Ron Rifkin Ron Rifkin (born Saul M. Rifkin; October 31, 1939) is an American actor best known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama '' Alias'', Saul Holden on the drama '' Brothers & Sisters'', and District Attorney Ellis Loew in '' L.A. Confiden ...

Christopher McCann Christopher McCann (born September 29, 1952) is an American theater, film and television actor. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and won an Obie Award for his performance in the 1993 play ''The Lights'', written by Howard Korder. Car ...

Brooke Bloom Brooke Bloom is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as ''Ronah'' in the drama film ''She's Lost Control (film), She's Lost Control'' (2014). Career Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Grunge Girl in the episod ...

, Alex Hurt,

Chris Perfetti Chris Perfetti (born December 12, 1988) is an American actor. He currently portrays Jacob Hill on the ABC comedy ''Abbott Elementary'', for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award. His other roles include Tim Fletch on the NBC series ...

, and

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' and '' Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...

in his final film role before his death in 2023. It had its world premiere at the 2020

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

and was nominated for Best Feature Film. It went on to screen at Los Angeles Outfest, where it won the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Narrative Feature. The film was received favorably by critics.

Synopsis

The film is set in the 1980s with David, the 17-year-old gay son of a Russian Jewish family in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He has a closer relationship with his widowed grandfather Josef, than he does with his parents; his dad frequently beats him and his mother is overbearing and constantly meddling in his life. She insists he go to a Jewish school, where he will not get beat up for being a Jew, instead of enrolling in public school, which David would rather go to. When his grandfather decides to downsize from his too big apartment to a smaller one in subsidized housing, he takes David along with him. After meeting the rabbi assigned to approve residency in the apartment block, Josef is approved after committing him and David to make up the quorum required for a Jewish prayer circle, also known as a minyan. There is also a closeted gay senior couple living there, Herschel and Itzik, whom the neighbors choose to view as friends, which David befriends. In one scene in the film, the building manager explains why he doesn't care that they live together: "Thieves, adulterers, homosexuals. I take them all, without them, we would never have our minyan". Now that David is living away from his parents, he can explore his sexuality more fully by cruising the parks and the local library, where young gay men hang out. One night he enters a gay bar for the first time where he meets Eric, who buys him drinks, and Bruno, the bartender. Bruno and David eventually have sex, while Bruno teaches David about the perils of AIDS that is just starting to spread through the gay community.

Cast

* Samuel H. Levine as David *

as Josef *

as Herschel *

as Itzik *

as Rachel * Alex Hurt as Bruno *

as Eric * Zane Pais as Nathan * Carson Meyer as Alicia * Elizabeth Loyacano as Mrs. Namovsky

Release

(February 17, 2020, nominee - Best Feature Film) * Los Angeles Outfest (August 13, 2020, winner - Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Narrative Feature) *OUTshine Film Festival (August 28, 2020) * Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (October 4, 2020) * New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival (October 16, 2020) *

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(October 22, 2021) *

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and PVOD services (October 29, 2021) * Cafritz Hall,

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(November 12, 2021)

Critical reception

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assigned the film an average weighted score of 68 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter Debruge of ''

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'' said it is a "subtle film, so understated at times that Steel's intentions may escape audiences entirely". He praised Samuel Levine for his performance saying, he is an "emerging talent known only to theater audiences at the moment...but ''Minyan'' makes clear that we are dealing with a performer of uncommon gifts". Jude Dry wrote in their review for ''

Indie Wire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'', that "Josef and David's relationship...provides some of the film's most charming moments...in no small part to the delightful Ron Rifkin and Levine...who carries it all off with a smoldering finesse". They also noted the "pretty hot sex scenes" between David and Bruno the bartender. David Rooney from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' praised the performances, especially old-timers Rifkin and Topol, saying they "convey a lot while saying relatively little". He also complimented Levine for his portrayal of David as being "consistently compelling, vulnerable, nervous and frequently defensive yet hungry for human contact that will feed his self-knowledge". Brian Bromberger from the ''

Bay Area Reporter The ''Bay Area Reporter'' is a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' was also impressed with Ron Rifkin saying he "radiates" in his role as the grandfather, and said this is Levine's "stunning breakout role". ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...

'' said the film "elevates a slice of Jewish experience that rarely makes it onto the big screen". They concluded that Levine is the one "who carries the film", and the movie succeeds by letting his character "stumble uninterrupted toward adulthood". Kyle Amato wrote in his review for ''

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'' that Steel's feature film debut is "confident" and Levine is the "perfect avatar for Steel's intentions; his face can shift with such subtlety and speed, his emotional devastation could go entirely unnoticed by those around him while the audience sees into his soul". Jonathan Christian from ''The Playlist'' graded the movie a D+. He said Levine is a "talent to keep an eye on" and Rifkin "delivers a commendable performance". But the film "cannot earn much more than a participation trophy...and under Steel's direction, the film regrettably fails to impress".

References

External links