As You Are (2016)

Set in the early 1990s, the telling and retelling of a friendship between three teenagers, as a police investigation prompts disparate memories.

Director:

Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Writers:

Madison Harrison, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Stars:

Owen Campbell, Charlie Heaton, Amandla Stenberg

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Owen Campbell	...	Jack
Charlie Heaton	...	Mark
Amandla Stenberg	...	Sarah
John Scurti	...	Detective Erickson
Scott Cohen	...	Tom
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Karen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kim Grant	...	Background
Annemarie Lawless	...	Margaret
Billy Thomas Myott	...	James
Andrew Polk	...	Jeff
John Romeo	...	Gas Station Attendant
Christopher Dylan White	...	Teenager

Storyline

Set in the early 1990s, the telling and retelling of a friendship between three teenagers, as a police investigation prompts disparate memories.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | coming of age | loner | mother son relationship | gay interest | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The song Mark is making fun of when he says "Jeremy!" is Jeremy by Pearl Jam.

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Soundtracks

Hard Being Happy
Composed by Patrick Higgins (as P. Higgins) and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
Piano, Guitar, Synth, Percussion by Patrick Higgins (as P. Higgins)
Drum Set by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

User Reviews

Powerful, Emotional and Quietly Beautiful

As You Are is a powerful, emotional and wonderfully directed movie. In the film, all characters personalities were deeply flawed, and clearly this young trio were trying their best to figure out the world around them, as well as themselves and their sexualities. Watching this movie i found the natural chemistry between all 3 of the young actors; Charlie Heaton, Owen Campbell and Amandla Stenberg was so obvious and made the characters they depicted so realistic and connected. The director, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte knew what this movie should be and executed it amazingly. the dark and depressive, yet quietly beautiful mood was obvious throughout the whole film. The soundtrack, which Joris-Peyrafitte also had a hand in matched this tone astonishingly well. Listening to it by itself is positively haunting and paired with the cinematography and performances of these talented actors made for a treat. The plot is slow, but the quiet moments between the drama is welcomed and balanced well. I do have a soft spot for gay "love" story films, especially for those set in the 90's. I use the term love loosely because it isn't what this movie is about. On paper, maybe. But the themes of mental health, politics, growing up, nostalgia are sprinkled artfully throughout and give the movie much more depth. As well as this, the choice of setting the story in a police interview, looking back was smart, as it envelopes the whole film in mystery and suspicion until the very last moment, but this last moment still leaves viewers questioning and confused. (as well as emotional and crying for me ;-;) I love love loved As You Are and can watch it 3 more times and it will still have the same imprint on me as the first time i watched it, and the more times i do, I just grow to love the setting, characters and cinematography more and more.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

As a Friend

Filming Locations:

648 3rd Avenue, Watervliet, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Votiv Films, Buffalo 8 Productions, Heretical Reason Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1