Bedrooms and Hallways
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| Bedrooms and Hallways | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Rose Troche |
| Produced by | Dorothy Berwn Ceci Dempsey |
| Written by | Robert Farrar |
| Starring | Kevin McKidd Julie Graham Simon Callow Con O'Neill Harriet Walter Christopher Fulford James Purefoy Jennifer Ehle Tom Hollander Hugo Weaving |
| Music by | Ian MacPherson Alfredo D. Troche |
| Cinematography | Ashley Rowe |
| Editing by | Chris Blunden |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Bedrooms and Hallways is a 1998 film about the fluidity of sexuality. It was written by Robert Farrar and directed by Rose Troche, starring Kevin McKidd, James Purefoy, Tom Hollander, Julie Graham, Simon Callow and Hugo Weaving.
[edit] Synopsis
The film opens as Leo (Kevin McKidd), an openly gay man celebrating his 30th birthday, arrives home and is very unhappy to find a surprise-party organised by his roommates Darren (Tom Hollander) and Angie (Julie Graham) in full swing. Leo has a complicated personal history with some of the guests and hides in his bedroom, feeling grumpy and old. The movie then goes into an extended flashback which explains this history. It turns out that his work colleague had encouraged Leo to attend his weekly men's group run by New Age type goofball Keith (Simon Callow) whose wife is Sybil (Harriet Walter). There, Leo meets hunky Irishman Brendan (James Purefoy) whom he develops a crush on, which he reluctantly reveals to the group. However Brendan is straight and lives with his ex-girlfriend Sally (Jennifer Ehle) who is later revealed to be Leo's high school sweetheart. A series of 'Iron John' group exercises leads Brendan and Leo to develop a friendship. They eventually bond in more ways than one, as Brendan appears unexpectedly late one night at Leo's door and sleeps with him; after which they become something of a couple, to the consternation of one man in their men's group, though it encourages another, Terry, to explore his sexuality.
Meanwhile, flamboyant Darren has met real estate agent Jeremy (Hugo Weaving), who gets a kick out of having sex in houses for sale he has been given the keys to. However, he is not interested into "couply" things, despite Darren's attempts. Eventually this leads to them having sex with handcuffs and blindfolds in the bedroom of the house which Sally has on the market, during which she unexpectedly returns home. Jeremy abandons Darren, who dumps him.
Leo gets close once more with Sally, and ends up kissing her. Feeling guilty, he leaves in a panic, and ends up telling Brendan what happened, who goes ballistic as he still has feelings for Sally. Leo finds himself in a quandary, and decides to confess to Sally that he is the one who is seeing Brendan (Sally had previously believed it was Leo's roommate Angie). He inadvertently does so while Brendan is there too, and leaves Brendan to face Sally.
The film then returns to the party, where Brendan and Terry get into an argument over Leo and take it outside, where Brendan punches Terry on the nose, who crumples. Brendan asks him to go with him for a drink (the same tactic he had employed with Leo). Leo's work colleague and Angie get together, Jeremy and Darren make up, and Leo sleeps with Sally.
Is Brendan really bi or gay? Will Darren ever get Jeremy to want more than just sex? Will Leo pull out of his depression? Will Angie find true love? Are there more secrets yet to be told? And will any of the boys in the men's group ever get straightened out?
The film features very high production values, solid cinematography and deft, swift editing.
[edit] Notes
The film is notable for bringing together a number of actors on the cusp of breaking out into high-profile careers. McKidd became a leading man in films such as Topsy-Turvy, Anna Karenina (2000) on PBS, Nicholas Nickleby, De-Lovely and HBO's mini-series, Rome. Purefoy, too, received starring roles in Mansfield Park (1999), Vanity Fair (1998) and as Marc Antony in Rome.
Hugo Weaving had already become a star after his leading turn in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 and Babe in 1995 (as Rex the Sheepdog). The year after Bedrooms and Hallways debuted, he was catapulted into the acting stratosphere with his starring roles in The Matrix movies and The Lord of the Rings, some of the top-grossing film-series of all time.
Of the male leads in Bedrooms and Hallways, Hollander has had the least success despite being acknowledged as a superb character actor. However, with his appearances in Gosford Park and Pride and Prejudice (2005), he has received some notice from Hollywood. He stars with long-time friend Bill Nighy in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in what reviewers call a deliciously campy and funny turn as Lord Beckett.
