Red Dirt (2000)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Tag Purvis

Writer:

Tag Purvis (writer)

Release Date:

17 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Mississippi | Family Relationships | Rural | Homosexual | Cousin Cousin Relationship

Cast

Dan Montgomery Jr.	...	Griffith Joseph Burns (as Dan Montgomery)
Aleksa Palladino	...	Emily Whaley
Karen Black	...	Aunt Summer
Peg O'Keef	...	Lynn Thomas
Glenn Shadix	...	Virgil Cunningham
Jo-Ann Robinson	...	Customer in shop (as Jo Ann Robinson)
Walton Goggins	...	Lee Todd

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Meridian, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Sweet Tea Productions

A story of love outside of the gay-straight linear mindset

Red Dirt is a story with two main themes: claustro- and agoraphobia, literal in the case of our protagonists' dotty Aunt Summer, and more abstract in the portrayal of cousins Griffith (desperate to escape town) and Emily (resigned to sharing her female relatives' fate of never leaving); and the difficulty and pain of expressing love, and changes in love. When a stranger, Lee, comes to stay at their farm, he acts as a catalyst that eventually brings all their secrets out of the woodwork, and it hurts as much as it sets everyone free.

In today's world of determinist sexuality and identity politics, it's clear why this film goes down like a ton of bricks with some people - many won't find it satisfying to watch a story of people falling in (and out) of love with no neat labels that can be attached to their desires. Even more disturbing to some will be the hint that love and sex are not the same thing. Yet this is exactly what I found so moving about this film, and such a welcome change from the teenager-coming-out stock of gay films that, despite being of some value to those that need them, have become tedious to those that no longer do. Fond as I am of man-on-man action, and not being much of a romantic, I was therefore very surprised to be so moved by a film simply about love, and not to have to suffer through another truckload of big-city gay clichés.

The acting, cinematography and photography are all superb - I could have done with a little less of the weepy soundtrack but really that's a tiny quibble.