''Those People'' is a 2015 American romantic

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-g ...

, written and directed by Joey Kuhn and starring Jonathan Gordon,

Jason Ralph Jason Ralph (born April 7, 1986) is an American actor and theater producer. Ralph began his career in theater, most notably performing in ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' on Broadway and off-Broadway and producing ''The Woodsman''. From 2015 to 20 ...

and

Haaz Sleiman Haaz Sleiman (; ar, هاز سليمان; born July 1, 1976) is a Lebanese actor. He most notably played the role of Tarek in the 2007 film '' The Visitor'' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male an ...

. The cast also includes

Britt Lower Brittney Leigh Lower () is an American actress known for her roles as Liz in ''Man Seeking Woman'', Tanya Solibakke in ''Unforgettable (U.S. TV series), Unforgettable'' and Helly R in ''Severance (TV series), Severance''. Early life Lower was b ...

Meghann Fahy Meghann Fahy (born 1989/1990) is an American actress. Her first prominent role was playing Hannah O'Connor on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 2010 to 2012. She starred as Sutton Brady on the Freeform drama series ''The Bol ...

, Chris Conroy, Allison Mackie, and Max Jenkins. ''Those People'' was released theatrically in New York City and Los Angeles in May 2016. The film was nominated for Outstanding Film – Limited Release at the

28th GLAAD Media Awards The 28th GLAAD Media Awards was the 2017 annual presentation of the GLAAD Media Awards, presented by GLAAD honoring the 2016 season. The awards honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly and accurately represent th ...

in 2017. Kuhn has described the film as having been inspired by his own experience falling in love with his best friend at college, as well as by his fascination with the story of

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDA ...

's son

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, who committed suicide two years after his father's arrest. During its festival run, the film won the Audience Award for Outstanding Feature Film at the 2015 NewFest: New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award for Best First US Dramatic Feature at the 2015 Outfest Film Festival.

Plot

Charlie, a young art student from New York haunted by

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel ''À rebou ...

A Rebours A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

, is asked by his best friend Sebastian to move into his apartment as he deals with depression and public scorn following his wealthy financier father Dick's arrest on high-profile white-collar criminal charges. Charlie's mother thinks this is a bad idea due to long-standing one-sided romantic feelings he has for Sebastian. On a night out with Sebastian and a wider group of friends Charlie meets and flirts with Lebanon-born bar-pianist Tim. The two have chemistry, but when Sebastian is refused service at the bar because of his father, the group abruptly leaves. On their way back to Sebastian's apartment they are chased by paparazzi. The events of the night worsen Sebastian's depression. Charlie and a couple of his friends attend a classical music concert and notice Tim is the pianist. After the show, Charlie and Tim spend the night together talking and share a kiss, beginning a relationship which leads Charlie to begin neglecting Sebastian. Tim soon professes love for Charlie, but sensing Charlie is holding back on account of his feelings for Sebastian, Tim breaks up with him. At a Halloween party Charlie is depressed at his break-up but makes a pass at Sebastian, who laughs it off. Later that night Sebastian has brought a guy home with them, which upsets Charlie who professes his feelings. They begin a

threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is commonly understood as "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". Though ''threesome'' most commonly refers to sexua ...

encounter at the date's suggestion, but Sebastian storms out and Charlie tells the guy to leave. Sebastian rejects Charlie, saying it would ruin their friendship. Charlie moves out and reunites with Tim. Tim is offered a dream job as pianist for the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, which would require a move he asks Charlie to also make. Sebastian visits his father in jail, and he tells him to continue his crimes which causes Sebastian to disown his father after an argument. His father hangs himself in his cell. Charlie struggles to break the news of his leaving New York to Sebastian at a tense dinner with their friends and Tim. The news causes Sebastian to stand on his apartment balcony prepared to

jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...

. Charlie talks him down but Tim breaks up with him again, believing he'll always come second. Sebastian moves in with Charlie and his mother and begins to slowly recover. On the eve of Tim's departure for San Francisco Sebastian calls him and he and Charlie spend one more night and part on sad but good terms, admitting it's not their time despite their feelings for each other. Some time later Charlie has completed his

Master's thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...

using himself for inspiration, rather than Sebastian, for the first time. Meanwhile Sebastian is preparing to leave New York for a fresh start, and the film ends with one more friends gathering as Sebastian and Charlie toast to their friendship with the rest of the group.

Cast

* Jonathan Gordon as Charlie *

as Sebastian *

as Tim *

as London *

as Ursula * Chris Conroy as Wyatt * Allison Mackie as Pricilla *

Max Jenkins Max Jenkins (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor and writer. He starred as Max Carnegie in NBC's comedy-drama detective series ''The Mysteries of Laura''. He is also known for his appearances in HBO's acclaimed series ''High Maintenance'' ...

as "Dracula"

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3899516 2015 LGBT-related films 2015 romantic drama films 2015 films American LGBT-related films American romantic drama films Films set in Manhattan Films shot in New York City Gay-related films LGBT-related romantic drama films 2015 directorial debut films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links