Not a Still Life (2013) User Reviews

Extraordinary Film

[lionmeyer · 8/10 · 2 January 2017]

A thoughtful, beautiful film. The director really captured the essence of Steve Stone. In a way it is a metaphor for a whole generation of people who have lived the life Steve did. The film is done with love and caring.

This film evokes warm memories of an era that many of us have lived through. Knowing Steve I can say that it truly encapsulates the essence of his being. He is a very kind, expressive, impish guy who is full of fun and laughter. On the other hand he is a very spiritual person who is steeped in his Jewish roots. His profound love for his partner and the life they built together is truly a beautiful thing.

The film is very balanced and shows the many facets of Steve's life and thought processes. It's a film you really should see.

Touching Struggle

[mah-40623 · 10/10 · 4 January 2017]

NASL resonated with me as I am Jewish and can relate to Steve's struggle with Judaism and his sexual orientation. This poignant film had am impact on me as Steve dealt with his long term relationship, particularly the illness and passing of his partner. His partner left him with a business that he had no experience with, and his thoughts and actions on how to deal with that problem set rounded out the sub topics in the film. His reasoning of why he is a vegetarian still sits with me. One of the lines that struck me most was Steve's contemplative question, "Are there gay butterflies?" I would be curious to learn how Steve is doing today, and if he found happiness again. Wonderful film!

A biography turned to myth

[jlpoznak · 10/10 · 21 February 2013]

Not A Still Life proves Roberta Cantow's superb abilities as a storyteller and her outstanding craftsmanship as a film maker. The film is filled with so many resonant images. I particularly liked the opening ( or near opening, I can't remember exactly) shot of Steve in the upside-down lounger. That shot is a great introduction to Steve, as someone who unabashedly acts as he wishes, without pretense. For Steve, upside down is just as good as right-side up.

The film creates and combines myth and reality in a manner reminiscent of Apichatong Weerasethakul. The mythical elements arise from Ms. Cantow's shots of Steve's garden and the back of his house that faces the garden. These shots give us the notion and feeling that Steve is in Eden, alone but very content. These mythic concepts are furthered by our seeing Steve (particularly when nude) gracefully, elegantly, and effortlessly glide through the water like a large sea mammal, a unique beast found only in Ms. Cantow's vision of Steve's Eden.

But then, on the other hand, Ms. Cantow remind us that Steve is of this earth, with his debt, maintaining his business, his tragic loss, his painful loneliness, his regrets, his temper, and most of all, his temptation to sell Eden! And finally, bridging myth and reality, is Steve's participation in Judaism.

In summary, Not A Still Life is a brilliantly conceived and realized work of art.

I liked it

[mblair-02300 · 9/10 · 2 January 2017]

As A friend of the subject in this film. I meet Steve in 1988 while he was going through the loss of his companion / lover. I was delighted to see and hear him in such a candid manner. Having him reveal himself to the world to understand how we all deal with issues of coming out and being venerable to the world at large, with both acceptance and non acceptance. If those that view the movie look at it as a life that is unfolding. We never know what will happen when start on the road of life. We all do things with the hope that it will turn out right in the end. Life is a journey and Steve has continued to live it to the fullest he can.

Uniquely Individual, Yet Somehow Universal

[TheAll-SeeingI · 10/10 · 12 November 2019]

For all our reasons to consume a story, its implicit offer to make the unique attributes of its characters adaptable to our own lives is the gift we hope it gives every time. "Not a Still Life" is a documentary made by a loving friend about a loving friend who is immersed in the joys, tribulations, and deeply-felt realizations afforded to him by a wholly lived life. Paradoxically, it's that same uniqueness of fingerprint that allows "Not a Still Life" to transcend itself and resonate with all of us imperfectly gifted with the human condition.

Steve Stone is the camera's focus. In his sixties and living alone in a tropically lustrous Hollywood bungalow once shared with his now-ascended partner, Steve is resolutely his own self, but he's not at all publicly famous -- and therein rests one of this documentary's great ambitions. Deep into the film, he provides his own summation: "This is the story of a gay, Jewish, recovering alcoholic, vegetarian, animal rights-loving...individual." Yet by then, director Roberta Cantow has pulled back the curtain, too, on a deeply reflective, highly articulate, and chronically exuberant human -- Steve is immersed in being present at all times, yet not without also serving as torchbearer to an acutely-felt past which continues to inform him, and which he continues to contextualize. On screen, Cantow expertly counterpoints the nuanced complexities of his ruminations by visually grounding him in life's everyday immersions: As we learn of the love of his life, his coming of age in an unsympathetic time, his complicated return to Judaism, and his ongoing search for new love, we're shown a man trimming branches from a tree, making a bed, assuring his dog, skimming the pool, and ultimately lending his own uniqueness to a complicated embodiment of the everyman archetype. In the process, we're wistfully coaxed to reflect on our own prime of life, and our own impacts (or lack thereof). "I do what I do to help those who can't help themselves. I show up." Aspirational and inspirational, and yet unforcedly so.

"Not a Still Life" is a most aptly-named firsthand account. It also feels, tacitly, like a credo: a noble if inevitably imperfect way of doing life, and one which Cantow and Stone have knowingly or unknowingly conspired to offer throughout this terrifically expressive film. "The meaning of life," Steve Stone concludes, "is to love and be loved." Simple, yet complicated. And so too is this wonderful documentary about an individual, and about us all. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)

Portrait of a Gay Jewish Man who struggles with loss.

[bilmar-1 · 10/10 · 19 February 2013]

Not a Still Live by Roberta Cantow is a delightful and unexpected personality study for Roberta. It grew out of a friendship and an intention to do a very short film, which organically grew into a feature. Not a Still Life is a sometimes funny view into the quirks and jolts of being human for one "odd bird" in Los Angeles, who suits up for battle to endure the pain of deep loss and to interpret his right moves and his disastrous missteps. It reflects on all of us and our clumsy fights to live this life. From Jung, to new-age philosophy to cooking healthy, and championing animals, his trip back into religion is the most moving and interesting.

Fascinating character study

[mobia-1 · 9/10 · 13 January 2017]

I'm neither Jewish nor gay but I found Roberta Cantow's documentary engrossing and psychologically compelling. It hits upon the AIDS epidemic, spiritual practice, cultural identity, and the burden of an idealized past. We follow Steve Stone, a gay man who's furniture building lover Flint parishes from AIDS during the 1980s. Steve feels compelled to keep his dead lover's memory alive by maintaining their exotically decorated home (which he eventually looses) and taking over Flint's custom furniture company. At the same time, he becomes involved in a tolerant synagogue through the influence of a Jewish relative. Steve's a funny guy, both exhibitionistic and philosophical and his seeming paradoxes keep the film fascinating. Cantow has crafted an artful portrait, using clever cut-aways and subtle audio editing.

A most interesting and enjoyable view

[keithjohnrobinson · 9/10 · 6 September 2021]

I found this documentary film was an honest and compelling watch. Being an imperfect being myself I certainly related to much of Steve's struggle. Beauty comes in many guises and I found this film to fall into that category, which says much for Roberta Cantow's handling of this mans story.

I hope downsizing his overheads Steve was able to continue to live his best life. I wish I had known him. His story is not rare in the gay community, which in itself is sad.