April 6, 2007
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
9
eveningsout
A rare 'issue' film with strength and depth
by Kaizaad Kotwal
Life Support from HBO Films is a rare one. For one, cinema these days rarely dares to deal with HIV and AIDS in a realistic and comprehensive way. And secondly, even more rare is a film that deals with the disease in the African-American community.
Thanks to the superstar producers Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah (who also stars), Life Support is a preachy film but necessary nonetheless. For all its soapbox moments, the stellar cast and steady directing give this film a glow above your average after-school special.
The story is set in the barrios, the ghettos and projects in and around New York City. Brooklyn is as much a character in the film as any of the struggling humans who inhabit it.
The people may seem stereotypical, yet the way they are treated in the film allows them to rise above archetypes and into humans whose stories we must listen to. For sure, there are the addicts and the hustlers, the single mothers and the pimps. There's even the angst-ridden teen and the strong, no-nonsense matriarch.
There are also men on the down low, a phenomenon that gets much attention in the tabloid media, whether it deserves it or not.
It is a topic rarely, if ever at all, covered in film, especially with such honesty and poignancy. To be certain, the down low is compounded by the homophobia from within and outside the community. Life Support is brave to tread those waters, especially in a film aimed at an African-American audience.
This is not to suggest that homophobia and down-low behavior are the sole domain of African-Americans. Nor is this to say that the film has no value to non-blacks. But just as Tony Kushner's Angels in America became the rallying cry for a generation of mostly affluent, gay white men, so too is the African-American community much in need of artistic works that shine a light on its disproportional rates of infection and death from the disease. Life Support comes close if one cares to and dares to listen.
There are young and older, male and female, straight and gay alike afflicted with HIV, a seemingly simplistic yet needed framing in a world where the idea that AIDS is a gay disease proliferates with ignorance and some hatred.
The film unabashedly talks about sexuality and STDs, dental dams, and female condoms, and the rigorous regimens of AIDS drug treatments.
Ana Williams (Latifah) is the heart and soul of the story, a reformed drug addict who got HIV from her husband Slick (Wendell Pierce). She runs an outreach and educational program for people with the disease.
Ana has two daughters: Kim (Rayelle Parker), who lives with the couple, and Kelly (Rachel Nicks), whom she lost during her days of drug abuse. Kelly lives with Ana's mother Lucille (Anna Deavere Smith).
The conflicting relationships between Ana and Kelly and Lucille speak to issues of family, loss and the possibilities of redemption. Add the fact that Ana's relationship with her husband is strained and that her own health is in decline-especially the potential loss of her legs if she strains her feet too much—make for a wonderfully complex role.
Kelly's gay friend is the other center of this story. Amare (Evan Ross) is in trouble not only with the disease but also with the lack of possibilities in his future. Once again,
the film has to be commended for treating a young, gay, black, HIV-positive character with some amount of depth and urgency.
As the film follows these stories, we get to listen in on group therapy sessions at the Life Support outreach center with real women facing very real issues. There is a nice hyperrealism to these segments as well as some much needed comic relief.
Writers Nelson George, Jim McKay and Hannah Weyer know they are making a message film, yet they try to ground it with complex characters and layered relationships. George based the central character on his sister.
George directs the film with simplicity and efficiency. The pacing is strong and it keeps us hooked by moving between the stories and characters with a smooth yet delicate touch.
Gloria Reuben (ER) is great in a small part as boss of the Life Support outreach center. Ana Deveare Smith, a stalwart performer, plays the dogged and honest grandmother with nuance and chutzpah. Her rich face and stellar presence are a treat to watch.
As Slick, Pierce (The Wire) is a silent yet strong presence. His chemistry with Latifah is nicely conveyed in a film so concerned with loss and despair.
Tracee Ellis Ross as Tanya, Amare's fedup sister, has some moving moments in the film. As Amare, Evan Ross is very effective. The two daughter and son of Diana Rossare naturals on the screen.
But the film belongs to Latifah, whose Ana is complex and so fully human. She inhabits the role with such precision, warmth and depth that one wonders why she doesn't play more such roles in larger Hollywood films.
Life Support is necessary viewing. So much is made about AIDS in Africa-and yes, it needs all the attention it can get-yet one can't ignore it in the African-American community here at home. The war against HIV and AIDS is being raged on multiple fronts all over the world. Life Support reveals how one of the most neglected fronts is right here.
PAUL SCHIRALDI/HBO
Queen Latifah, Rachel Nicks and Evan Ross
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