GAYLETTER

Vertigo is one of Hitchcock’s best, yet most underrated films. Based on the 1954 novel D’entre les morts by Boileau-Narcejac this psychological thriller received mixed reviews when it was first released, but like many classic movies it has gotten better with age and is now considered one of Hitchcock’s most defining films. C. Mason Wells, the man behind IFC Center’s 35mm-exclusive “Celluloid Dreams” series, is a super fan of the film. So much so that he’s created (in collaboration with BAMcinématek) ‘The Vertigo Effect,’ a two-week program of films infused with the DNA of Alfred Hitchcock’s seminal 1958 work. This Friday you can see The Joy Of Life: “San Francisco, sexuality, and suicide come together in Jenni Olson’s entrancingly minimalist essay film.” Afterwards join the director for a Q&A about the film. For lovers of San Fran, and obviously Hitchcock, this series is not to be missed. Go alone, or go on Grindr and find a date. Either way you’re going to have a thrilling time (pun intended girl!)  —tom

When I heard this exhibition was happening at MoMA I almost peed my pants with excitement. Those of you that are not familiar with the Canadian filmmaker Bruce LaBruce I recommend you to start your research tonight after you finish reading this. As nicely stated in the press release: “LaBruce is a provocative Arthouse auteur who subverts the genre with an exploration into sexual taboos and has had a revolutionary impact on queer cinema.” There’s lots of screenings for you to go to but, two of my favorites are ‘Raspberry Reich,’ which goes like this “a group of leftist German radicals plot to kidnap the son of a wealthy banker, just as the Red Army Faction captured industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer and held him for ransom in 1977.” Also, You must watch one of his most recent films, which we consider to be ground-breaking, ‘Gerontophilia,’ set to release nationally later this year. The film “concerns a saintly young man working at an assisted living facility in Montreal who discovers that he is attracted to the extremely advanced in age...” You can read all about it on our site, it’s a great film. This is the filmmaker’s first complete retrospective featuring all of his work to date. I’m excited to explore what I’ve not seen. Who wants to come with me?  —Abi

It’s been 222 days, 11 hours and 21 minutes since the legend that was Joan Rivers died. If you are unfamiliar (beyond her work on Fashion Police) with why this woman was so revered, then we suggest you watch the 2010 documentary A Piece of Work. It was filmed in 2008 when Joan was having a lull in her career. It follows her as she hustles her way back to relevance, peaking when she wins the reality show Celebrity Apprentice. Ms. Rivers gives the filmmakers totally access to her life, even appearing on camera minutes after a visit to her dermatologist, her face filled with 4 months worth of fillers making her appear as if she has just had an allergic reaction to a couple hundred bee stings. At times Joan seems to wallow in self-pity for what she perceives as a lack of reverence from the comedy establishment, yet in some ways she has a point. She’s only one of a handful of female comedians to have reached such level of success (and the only woman to host the Tonight Show) yet unlike her male counterparts she was never allowed to rest on her laurels. Which perhaps was a good thing as it’s this fear of irrelevance that kept her at the top of her game, right up to her last breath. Miss you Ms. Rivers.  —tom

It feels like forever ago, but it was actually just last September that we went to the premiere of the new film Dior and I at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film (which opens in NY, Friday) is directed by Frédéric Tcheng and follows the creation of the first Dior collection for former Jil Sander designer, Raf Simons. Raf stepped into the position formerly held by John Galliano who was sacked for getting fucked up on booze and pills and hurling racist, non-coherent slurs at a couple of old ladies in a Parisian restaurant. Galliano is a visionary designer and he left a gaping hole at Dior; the documentary does a wonderful job of following Raf as he tries to fill that hole by infusing his own brand of minimalism and modern design into the house. What I found most inspiring about this film is Raf’s obsessive, laser-like focus. He doesn’t sketch anything, instead he creates these super dense folders that have the exact specifications and references for what he wants “down to the millimeter.” Tcheng did an amazing job of capturing Raf’s creative process — it’s a very intimate film — especially when we discover how press shy and introverted Raf actually is. I left the screening so inspired and full of energy, wanting to be more creative in my own work, which is about as big a compliment I can give to this wonderful film.  —tom

This movie is so mesmerizing — I popped an Ambien before I started (I really wanted to sleep — it was past 2:00AM) and I stayed up through the whole thing (I love powering through an Ambien, which could be one reason why I missed the fact that the protagonist, Alexsandr, apparently had a personality disorder, I just thought he was odd and hot!) The film is about a super sexy illegal Russian living in NYC who loses his mother to suicide and his sister to god knows where, and without any other options for survival becomes a very skilled male escort. The film is written, edited, produced and co-directed by it’s star, the uber talented Pau Maso (he shares the director’s credit with David Damen — I’m glad he got some help.) Told in flashbacks while Alexsandr is in a grueling therapy session, the film explores his descent into the world of male prostitution with all the drugs, dancing and drama you can imagine. I must say, Pau is so beautiful to watch on film I could stare at him reading the dictionary for hours. I read some of the critics reviews of the film and had to share this one, “If Black Swan were a film about a male escort rather than a ballerina (and had a dash of Requiem for a Dream thrown in) it would probably be something like Alexander’s Price.” Yassss, it’s truly a must see.  —Gayletter

Wow, wow, wow, what a fucking genius film, thank god my dinner plans were canceled (with the phenomenal wife of legendary painter Malcolm Morley) so I could instead watch this film ‘52 Tuesdays’ before the deadline for this week’s letter. I am one bottle of red wine, and a Jameson on the rocks, into the evening, so let me lean on the press notes to introduce you to this extraordinary film. “16 year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition (FTM) and their time together becomes limited to Tuesday afternoons. Filmed over the course of a year, once a week, every week, (only on Tuesdays) these unique filmmaking rules bring a rare authenticity to this emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility and transformation.” It’s totally Boyhood meets Transparent. 52 Tuesdays is director Sophie Hydes’ debut, and what a debut. The mother is played by Del Herbert-Jane and the daughter played is by Tilda Cobham-Hervey — all non-professional actors. Ok, I’ve said enough… Don’t walk, run to the Quad Cinema, bring a date or your best friend and see this film, opening this Friday. The film is also available on Fandor.  —Gayletter

Let me break it down for you, if you don’t already know, Jackie O’s father was Black Jack Bouvier. He had a sister named Edith who married a man named Phelan Beale, they had two sons and a daughter called little Edie (you do the math, that makes Edith Bouvier Beale Jackie’s aunt and little Edie her first cousin). Now one day back in 74’ Jackie’s sister Lee Radziwill got it in her head that she wanted to make a movie about her wonderful childhood days in the Hamptons and hired none other than Albert and David Maysles the father’s of direct cinema to do it. Lee gave the Maysles a list of 50 people to interview for the movie and I believe #34 was the two Edies. When the Maysles arrived at the decrepit, cat and raccoon infested estate, where they lived on Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, called Grey Gardens, and met Big and Little Edie they became obsessed. They dropped Mrs. Radziwill and returned a year later to make the now classic documentary Grey Gardens. Thanks to modern technology the film and picture have been brilliantly restored and the polished version is making it’s NYC debut at Film Forum. Do NOT miss this opportunity to meet these legendary women, if you haven’t already, and if you have then you know you can’t get to the Film Forum fast enough to see it again. If I told you how many times I’ve seen Grey Gardens, as Little Edie would say, “You’d have me committed.”  —Gayletter