, a college student is stuck in a time loop, destined to relive the same subpar party again and again. How do we know? He explains his predicament to fellow partygoer and love interest Ansel within the first 30 seconds of the film. Aside from the tendency to tell, not show, this feature packs a punch with its queer spin on theMidnight Rhythms
is all emotion. The leads don masks, attend a ball, and mourn at a funeral as the narrator recounts the alienation, self-sabotage, and shame that accompanies his queer experience. Drifting from one kaleidoscopic space to the next, we follow Hero as he struggles to accept his feelings for his Lover . But the real star is Casey Hastings—the film’s production and costume design is at once modern and nostalgic, breathtaking and mesmerizing.
As comedienne Lady Lin peeks from behind the curtain and tiptoes onto the stage, we have unwittingly become audience members observing her clownish act. She pantomimes undoing the fly of her pants, and relieving herself at a urinal, her microphone doubling as a phallus. She pulls down an invisible pair of women’s underwear and squats at a make-believe toilet.