From the team that brought you the web series “T.R.A.D.E. It All” and “Vampire G” comes a trailer for their new feature film called “H.E.. (Handsome Enigma),” a film that tackles the issue of domestic violence in gay relationships.
Directed by accomplished celebrity fashion designer KL Allen, the film stars Jonathan Smith (Nashville, BET’s The Game, HBO’s Treme, Hunger Games), Jevon Loving (Male Model), Kenyon Glover (Former NBA Player, TVONE’S Born Again Virgin), Rion Williams (Nashville), Tinashe Mahachi and Chole Stafford.
Official Synopsis:
Talon Alexander Jordan and his friends visit Club Currency to celebrate his 27th birthday. What is meant to be a night of celebration amongst friends, turns into a night that changes Talon’s life forever. Talon, meets club promoter Raynard “RJ” Lennox JR who he believes is the love of his life. Three months later, after moving in together Talon begins to discover RJ has another side of him and ends up on an emotional roller coaster of physical and mental abuse that could end up costing him his life if he doesn’t get out.
Hopefully the story will be well told, but for a feature film directed by an accomplished fashion stylist, I expected to see more striking visuals in the shot selections. Based on the trailer, everything here seems rushed.
For example: I would expect to see more attention to the use of color, not only in the wardrobe but also in the surrounding set decoration and props.
The use of color, framing and placement of the subjects is vital to a stylist’s knowledge arsenal when working on photo shoots, seems like that experience would have been carried over to a film made by a stylist. Even if it takes more time (and money) to shoot, the perfect shot is all that matters in the world of fashion.
Notice that pretty much all of the screenshots below have the same boring two-person framing. The camera rarely seems to hover above, behind or close-up to the actors.
Another film directed by fashion stylist Tom Ford, “A Single Man” (also featuring gay men), comes to mind. Granted Ford had a much larger budget. However, this trailer (without a single word of dialogue or text on the screen) demonstrates that strong emotional story elements and plot can be conveyed through composition, color and close-ups alone if attempted.
This critique is not meant to single out the producers or director, only to encourage more creativity from gay filmmakers in this historically visual medium.
We’ve only seen this teaser trailer for “H.E. (Handsome Enigma)” though, maybe the full film offers a more unique visual style/look.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
- Good looking, healthy young men don’t have permission to be depressed, just my jaded opinion.
- Where can I purchase my “female best friend” who only loves to go to clubs with black gay men?
- Hopefully the film explores the realistic motivations of the abuser, not just the abused. Too often domestic violence stories are depicted in black & white “he’s possessive, nuff said” simplicity.
Looks lame. Where are these people getting the money to keep making stuff
It may look lame to you and I can respect that but this is a serious issues we are try to shed light on. The money comes from our own pockets that we worked hard to obtain. I appreciate you atleast viewing it. We hope that you can support us.
Forget about what people are telling you and Keep doing what you are doing. If people like it, they will support you financially. If they don't like it, you will have to carry the weight. The great thing of being able to carry the weight, you don't have to answer to anyone. Coupled with the lower cost of equipment used to create these productions and living in a democracy has given the public many examples. With these examples, we can weeve through what is most represented of ourselves. The next person might not agree with it, but that is part of living in a democracy. We must at least respect a person for doing it, even if we don't like it personally. Besides, if you really don't like it, GET A TEAM TOGETHER AND DO YOUR OWN PRODUCTION! Anyway, my only criticism is that producers go from one production to the next without concluding, but I was told that it is difficult keeping a cast together. In other words, people want to get paid! To me, there is more to life than getting paid, but we are dealing with young people here. One more thing! Why is this the only site featuring gay productions. I will ask someone with a creative mind to create a website to support and keep us updated on new releases. WE NEED TO STOP BASHING OUR BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY! WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR PRODUCERS, WRITERS AND CASTORS NO MATTER WHAT! IF WE DON'T LIKE THE PRODUCTIONS, WE NEED TO GET A TEAM TOGETHER AND DO IT THE WAY WE LIKE. BUT PLEASE DON'T PUT US UNDER THE BUS!!!
I agree; I would never watch something like this.
You dont have to watch it. Nobody is forcing you to watch it. Why cant you simply keep it moving if its not for you. I never understood unwaranted negativity.
KL, I don't base my opinion on some website that dedicates it time bashing movie makers. I will watch your film. If I don't like it, I will keep my opinions to myself, because I did not pay for it. If I should get bored with your movie, I will go to the next lgbt movie, because Having options is more important than the movie itself. And lastly, if the movie moves me some way, I will give you my financial support as I have done other productions. Thank you KL for your work brother and stay strong MY MAN.
Hello Nick,
I always appreciate you posting work done by the team behind T.R.A.D.E IT ALL and Vampire G. I went into this project to tell a story not sell a Fashion AD. This is not a fashion movie nor do i want anyone to view it as one. I seperate my Fashion Work from Filming which I hope you can understand that. I dont want people mixed up about that at all. Im all for Visuals but im more for the story.
Lets get down to budget, set, props and designs. This is all done on a relatively small budget. One way to get your name out there is to bring your projects to life and get people to believe in you. If you cant invest in yourself then nobody else will.
I am always open for Q & A and discussion. I do these projects because there is a lack of gay content and just want to be able to tell stories and grow my craft over time. We have to start somewhere and this is my starting point.
Again I appreciate you posting and doing a write up. Every little promotion counts. Hopefully you will enjoy the full film when it comes out.
Agreed, every promotion counts. And my critique will likely not affect the interest level for many LGBT fans. I've seen talented stylists can make fashion look expensive with literally no budget, so can many indie filmmakers if they truly care about the craft. I can list tons of examples. The short films SLOW comes to mind. The director told us he had zero budget, just planning & talent. Like I stated, this critique was not meant to single out this production, merely to raise the creative and artistic bar for others in the future. Good luck with Sundance!
I understand but again my focus wasnt FASHION it was more so the story. I can send you links to countless fashion commercials ive done or my new TV Pilot Perfectville which is fashion driven that was just accepted into a film festival in Hollywood that screen’s in October. Those were also no budget that was strongly based on FASHION. This however is a film based on a story not trying to make this a fashion film. Simply a story that can raise awarness about Domestic Violence in the LGBT community. Again i respect and appreciate your critique and taking time to write this up on your blog. Much respect is given to you for that.
Okay I see where the disconnect is…I'm not saying that the film should have been more Fashion-Focused. I'm stating that a more artistic eye could have been given to the film given that you are a visual artist yourself. True, films are about telling a story, but films are Visual Storytelling, with striking imagery and composition and colors. Just like with the best Fashion photo shoots. We see so many web series and films sent to this site that pay no attention to details like this. But it seems like you're saying filmmaking is not your thing, you just wanted to tell a story as simply and quickly as possible, not make a great independent film told cinematically. If that's the case then I concede to your points in the discussion. Here's a video that maybe better describes what I'm talking about:
I think you are jumping to conclusions. This was by no means rushed. We started this in march and took alot of time to shoot this. This is not nearly the entire movie. This is just a small fraction that we put into this trailer. If you are questioning my filmmaking or visual artist skills ill be happy to send you a few links, one in particular that is screening at a major film festival, its mainstream. I cant post it on here for that very reason but id be more than happy to email it to you if you want to check it out.
Yeah I'm sure you're very talented. I'm just basing my criticism on what was included into the trailer and what you've stated here in the comments. The screenshots are taken from the trailer, not behind the scenes footage. However, I also stated in the article that the full final film may prove to negate all of my concerns…look forward to seeing it.
You are judging the trailer on what you feel should be fashion based and comparing it to TOM FORD. That is a fashion film. A Visual lookbook so to speak. There are plenty of big budget, high glossy films with terrible plots and storylines. I may not be a great filmmaker yet but I am learning with time. I’m not doubting your critique, I am just making sure this is not to be judged as a fashion film. Yeah I am a Fashion Designer but in no way can I play Fashion Designer, Director and Wardrobe Stylist on one set. I get it, you want to see some artistic shots. Visually gripping cinematography. You cant get all that in a 3 minute trailer.
Bro, I only used Tom Ford because he's also an accomplished Fashion Stylist/Designer. I could have used any filmmaker, even independent filmmakers. I never accused you of not being talented or even a good filmmaker, I merely stated that I was hoping for a more attention to the visual side of a feature film taken by someone who makes his living on visuals. Here's a teaser trailer by a filmmaker we've featured on the site before who also had very little budget to work with:
Ive seen every selection of film on this site. I am also an avid webseries watcher and support majority of them all. We all are learning and growing, if we were at that stage to where we were big name directors then you probably would see more. The expectations are set so high that 90% of black gay indie films on here get bad feedback and lack of support but then we gripe at the fact there is not alot of Black Gay Films in Theatres or Television. The support starts with the community itself. I can say I decided to throw my hand in gay films because the lack of them. I have come to work with some pretty talented and motivated individuals given the opportunity to excel. I have thick skin so none of the criticism bothers me. Im just happy to have gotten off my ass to help support a cause. Everybody may not like it but there are those who will and support it. Im not in it for the money. Im in it for growth. I always respect everyones opinion because thats all that they are. Lets just appreciate the fact that you put it on your blog for exposure to your audience. Thanks again.
No doubt man, our regular readers know that we don't cover every gay musician, film or web series out there unless we thought something about it was worth discussing. Your final film could be very refreshing, only time will tell. We don't sugarcoat or give passes on what we perceive as low quality work though. Just like in the music or even fashion industry, you have to present your best work, without excuses, and hope the people will dig it. We want to push artists to get better just as we push ourselves to improve the website. The mainstream media (including Sundance attendees & critics) will be far harsher than any thing you read here.
Agreed. I work in Fashion so I know all about harsh feedback. I just appreciate you spotlighting projects. I may not comment but im an avid reader of your blog.
love all of your work. I share this in all of my education sessions
is this real? it cant be…man where do i start…the acting is awful…do they actually have
auditions for this shyt or do they just say "hey you look decent, and are pretty much built like a typical
sought after gay…you wanna act?"
if i had more than two thumbs they'd all be pointing down… *drops mic*
The subject matter definitely caught my attention because I personally know a few gay dudes who were in abusive relationships; an ex-good friend of mine was actually the abuser and it blew my mind. So I’d definitely watch this film just to see how far into the character’s minds it goes.
When it comes to the film’s production, I know that a lot of the times the producer’s/director’s of these webseries’ and YouTube films usually have little to no budget, are going it alone, and wear too many hats. However, there is still enough free talent out there to assemble a decent production team and produce a higher quality product. One person simply can’t do it all by themselves.
Keeping opinions to yourself concerning works of art does not help creators, it only enables meritocracy. Meritocracy runs rampant in many LGBT projects produced by people of color, which leads to the lack of funding or support.
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:khart1: Remembering the script is not the same as acting gentlemen.