Any Day Now, 2012.
Directed by Travis Fine.
Starring Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, Isaac Leyva, Frances Fisher and Gregg Henry.
SYNOPSIS:
In the 1970s, a gay couple fights a biased legal system to keep custody of the abandoned mentally handicapped teenager that comes to live under their roof.
First of all it has to be said that this film isn’t like many other dramas of a similar ilk. Rather than bombard you with sentimentality and emotional set-pieces, it lets you make your own mind up about what’s happening.
We don’t waste much time in getting to the story as we see how Rudy and Paul (Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt respectively) first meet. Rudy performs in a drag act and Paul is a man who has only recently come to terms with his sexuality but as soon as their eyes meet, they almost immediately fall for each other.
From this initial encounter, we follow Rudy back to his home where he wakes up in the morning to find Marco (Isaac Leyva) left alone in a neighbouring apartment. Unsure of what to do, Rudy calls Paul and from there the story is pretty much set.
While that may be a fairly brief description of the start of the movie, it matches the speed at which the film zips along. Throughout the entire picture, there’s very little wasted dialogue or superfluous content which makes this film incredibly refreshing when compared to a lot of modern dramas.
The most important thing I can say about this film is the fact that the story is presented to us with very little emotional prodding – something which is quite remarkable considering that it’s about a gay couple fighting prejudice while trying to adopt a child with Down’s Syndrome. Rather than constantly pulling on the heart-strings, the director lets you invest in the characters and their situation, and you end you end up becoming more invested in the entire picture as a result.
This wouldn’t be possible of course without a pair of actors who can handle the material and while Dillahunt is perfectly fine as Paul, the real star of the show is Alan Cumming. His portrayal of Rudy has all the flair, wit and humour that you would expect of a drag queen yet remains grounded and believable throughout. Furthermore, his interactions with Marco are so genuinely warm and loving that you can’t help but become further involved in the story.
The story itself plays out as you would expect, with bigoted characters at every turn and is unfortunately quite straightforward and at times predictable. Despite this it should receive special mention as it knows when to tread the beaten path and when to surprise you – one moment in particular almost guaranteed to leave you choked up.
The one issue you could find with Any Day Now is that of pacing. Because the story flies past so quickly, it does make it at times hard to connect with the characters as deeply as could be possible. This is a terrible shame as the actors are wonderful and direction-subtle and, given a slightly longer running time, could have almost any viewer in tears.
All in all, this film is an honest and well put together tale of love, parenthood and prejudice and is well worth a watch despite the emotional punch not being quite strong enough to result in a knockout.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Ozzy Armstrong is a Stargate and Rocky superfan. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published January 13, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
