BITB is classic film from the early post-stonewall period; an awesome display of claustrophobic emotional cannibalism. With nary a wasted line, it's incredible to see how much character development the writer crams into every inch of dialogue. There are great performances here, especially by Gorman, Nelson and Greene. Packing a wallop similar to 1966 "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf," this is a must see, and great first step, for anyone interested in gay cinema. After a birthday party drifts desperately out of bounds, this group of gay males, and two in particular, proceed to rip each other to shreds. The storm and resulting damage on the apartment terrace mirrors the storm and damage to the lives inside. Michael's comment to Donald, "If we could just learn not to hate ourselves quite so very much," seems a lesson equally relevant to the gay community at large in the early seventies. When viewed next to a more recent film with vaguely similar premise, The Broken Heats Club, it seems like we might just have been paying attention. But make no mistake, Boys in the Band is not your daddy's Broken Hearts Club.
Review of The Boys in the Band
