Swoon
1992
Chicago, Illinois
Tom Kalin
Gay Crime Romance
What’s it all about: It’s 1924, and dress shirts take forever to unbutton. Crossfit has not been invented yet, so gay lovers Daniel Schlachet and Craig Chester pass their time playing poker with drag queens, stuffing their pants with dead birds, and committing crimes.
First Encounter: at the theater; Candotti’s first viewing
Prostitute Index: nil
Death By: chisel and shiv
Relics: sock garters, button-back onesie, a very 90s idea of 20s style
Hoops: Chicago as crime capital, gays that must be punished
Heartthrobs: Adina Porter, Daniel Schlachet
LoFi Magic: lazy susan-style camerawork, psychological mugshots
Makes me want to: point out that this was the entirety of gay cinema in my formative years — beautiful, exciting, deviant and inevitably tragic (Carol was the first gay movie I’ve ever seen where the couple is not physically harmed by the end)
Candotti take: “Dialogue in the right moments, not all the time. This movie gives you time to listen, and time to think.”