There are several interesting things happening here. Provincetown is considered a gay mecca, much like Fire Island, but it's most active during the summer. This film, written and directed by Marco Calvani, an Italian filmmaker, is about Provincetown after that busy season, probably late August or even late September. This film provides a glimpse into what life is like there in that time period. It also features an older man who has lived there for decades and is a year-round resident. One scene involves that older man looking back at his experiences and reflecting on how things have changed. However, like most gay films, it mostly ignores the older man in favor of the younger one.
Marco Pigossi is the current romantic partner of Calvani, so it explains him being the lead here. Pigossi plays Lourenço, pronounced Lorenzo, a Brazilian accountant who comes to Provincetown on a tourist visa, accompanying his boyfriend named Joe. That boyfriend dumps Lourenço, abandoning him and not returning any of his phone calls. It's been a year and Lourenço only has a month left on his visa. He's staying in the guest house of the aforementioned older man whom he met through Joe. He also makes money under the table by working as a cleaner of rental houses. He doesn't want to return to Brazil because his hometown is a very small and religious area where being gay isn't easy or accepting.
James Bland (Insecure and Giants) co-stars as Maurice, an African American nurse from New York City. He's in his mid 30's and he's visiting Provincetown for a week. He's planning to go to Africa as part of a fellowship in Angola. He's obviously on vacation and has been there before, but it's not clear what he's looking to do. He can't be looking for a relationship but the way he behaves it seems like he could be. If he's looking for just a hookup, again the way he behaves seems like he wants more. He recognizes that often these gay meccas are often populated mostly with white people and often he's the only Black men. He often feels isolated and it makes him not feel like an American. As such, he wants to leave. He tells a story about a racist white man who tells him to go back to Africa. His character is moving to Africa, so he's doing exactly what the racist white man wanted and that fact isn't examined or challenged in this film. If he feels so alienated in such a place like Provincetown, which has obviously a predominantly white population, why doesn't he vacation in places with more Black populations or historically Black beaches like Martha's Vineyard?
Nevertheless, Maurice's relationship with Lourenço is very interesting. Maurice is an American who wants to leave the country and Lourenço is a non-American who wants to stay. It's a compelling dynamic. Calvani's script doesn't delve any deeper into that dynamic. In terms of his ex-boyfriend, Joe, this film gives practically nothing about the relationship. We have no clue what it was like or what caused the breakup and how or why it's driving him. It has an effect on Lourenço, but we're not exactly sure what the context is. When Maurice learns that Lourenço is an immigrant with a ticking clock, it's not sure what the expectation is.
By the end, the question of whether Lourenço gets his visa isn't answered. The question of how isn't answered. He's dealing with heartbreak and supposedly this film is hanging onto whether he'll be able to move on romantically. However, that doesn't appear to be a problem as depicted here. Lourenço stumbles once when he calls Maurice a stud, assuming him to be a top, which goes to racial or gender biases, but that's quickly brushed past. Otherwise, there isn't much conflict here.
There is a lot of sex appeal and steamy moments. Pigossi and Bland are two gorgeous men. Given the film is set on a nude beach, there's plenty of eye-candy. There's also a side-plot involving Marissa Tomei who plays a lesbian artist or a woman who leaves her husband for another woman. It might be a kind of metaphor for something. Yet, I'm not sure it's as effective as it was perhaps intended.
Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 45 mins.
Available on VOD.
