By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Richard Laxton
Starring: Cynthia Nixon | Denis O’Hare | John Hurt | Jonathan Tucker | Swoozie Kurtz
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2009
Running time: 74
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0997057/
Bruce says: “Reprising his role of Quentin Crisp from THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT, John Hurt appears so comfortable in Crisp’s shoes at times it is difficult to remember this film is not a documentary. Hurt plays Crisp as though he were wearing a second skin. The film is a fictionalized account of Crisp’s expatriation during a period of about ten years when he lived in New York. Quentin Crisp is iconic, notorious and outrageous. He is one of the first gay men to be totally unapologetic about his gender preference and his own appearance which favored long hair, facial make-up, and flamboyant clothing. ‘I wore make-up because it was who I was. I was beaten in England for who I was,’ Crisp succinctly positions himself.
“Crisp decides to move to New York at the age of seventy two. He is amused by his classification as a ‘resident alien.’ One of his first American contacts is editor Phillip Steele (Denis O’Hare) who shows Quentin the ropes, introducing him to many New Yorkers. Philip takes Quentin to a leather bar but they are asked to leave because they don’t fit the mould. Quentin gets an agent (Swoozie Kurtz) who is fascinated by him but is somewhat at a loss as how to market him. When Quentin gets a gig at a downtown theatre, word travels fast and he becomes a celebrity of sorts. When Crisp declares ‘AIDS is a fad, nothing more…we must treat the crisis as a boring triviality,’ the gay community is outraged. Crisp, no doubt following the advice of his fellow countryman Evelyn Waugh, took a ‘never apologize, never explain’ stance on the issue. Eschewing retractability for his remarks did not win him many friends.
“Crisp develops a friendship with Patrick Angus (Jonathan Tucker), a handsome young painter who first sees Crisp on stage in his one-man show. Patrick asks Quentin if he would come to his loft to see his paintings. Quentin is quite taken by the painter’s talent but dismayed by his emotional detachment from other gay men. Quentin takes on a personal project to boost Patrick’s self esteem. In an avuncular moment Quentin suggest that Patrick be more careful and curtail his anonymous sexual adventures. ‘It’s too late for that now,’ Patrick reveals. Soon thereafter Patrick is another AIDS fatality. Although Quentin is visibly shaken he remains firmly unapologetic about his AIDS remarks. ‘I shall make sure those words are never said again,’ is as close as Crisp ever gets to a retraction. Late in life Crisp observes that ‘More people are getting what they want – which is good – it makes me irrelevant.’ Crisp gets a second wind when performance artist Penny Arcade (Cynthia Nixon) invites him to perform in her stage act, an improvisation that fields questions from the audience. To Crisp’s great surprise they are a big hit with the downtown crowd.
“Richard Laxton does an excellent job of recreating the blazing artistic scene of the 1980’s and the confused reactions to the black cloud of AIDS which began hovering over the gay community. Denis O’Hare, Cynthia Nixon and Jonathan Tucker provide wonderful support to Hurt’s memorable performance. 4.5 cats
‘(AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK screened at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.)”