The only exterior shot Playland shows of the iconic Boston gay dive that lends the film its name is a black-and-white photograph slotted seconds before the end credits. Established in 1937, the Playland was the city’s oldest gay bar and served as a crucial queer hub until 1998, when the owners surrendered to Boston’s “urban renewal” projects and the building turned to rubble. Never once does writer-director-editor Georden West beckon us outside its premises. From the minute the camera first glides across dust-covered tables to the monochrome pictures with which it closes, West’s feature debut reconstructs the dive and keeps us locked inside. It’s the night before demolition, and what unfurls is a kind of farewell ceremony as owner Lady (Danielle Cooper), decked head-to-toe in black leather, travels across sixty years of Playland’s history to conjure the ghosts of a few regulars for one final call. “A...
- 2/9/2023
- by Leonardo Goi
- The Film Stage
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