Loggerheads
Reel Affirmations 2005
Review by Randy Shulman
Rating: 
(5 out of 5)
[Critic’s Pick!]
Saturday, 10/22/2005, 8:00 PM
Feature presentation, $15 at Lincoln Theatre
IT ALL ENDS here, with a brilliantly acted, deeply absorbing drama about a young gay man (Kip Pardue) who comes to a North Carolina beach town to save its endangered Loggerhead turtles and winds up saving himself — for a time.
That’s only part of the story, as there are two other related tales, one involving Elizabeth, the repressed wife of a minister whose trying to reconnect with her estranged son, the other involving a woman who years ago gave up her son for adoption and now yearns to find him. The individual narratives converge upon one another with a potency that only becomes apparent in the final 10 minutes. Directed by Tim Kirkman, who made the terrific documentary Dear Jesse and the filmed version of David Drake’s The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, Loggerheads feels almost effortless in its complexity.
Filled with magnificent performances from Tess Harper, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Learned and Chris Sarandon, the movie is weighty without being overwhelming — its dramatic current draws you in without pulling you under. And the writing exhibits the kind of spare qualities that comprise genuine conversation.
”He’s sick,” says Elizbeth to her husband about their son.
”Is it AIDS?” he asks.
”Does it matter?”
”God punishes.”
Loggerheads is about the need to connect, to reconnect, and to find meaning in a simple act of salvation. In this case, those who need saving most are human beings — and their salvation comes at a price — though it turns out to be a price worth paying.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
