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Cherub

Country: Canada, Language: English, 74 mins

  • Director: Devin Shears
  • Writer: Devin Shears
  • Producer: Mithila Majithia, Devin Shears

CGiii Comment

The message is loud and clear, even though the main character doesn't utter word. Loneliness does not discriminate!

Perhaps...this would have been best suited as a short film rather than a bimbling feature - because, that's all he does, bimbles, silently. Here, there and straight into an Adult Bookshop. Didn't know they still existed!

Now...the director's website states that Harvey is a straight man - hence him buying Penthouse - where other descriptions don't mention his sexuality whatsoever as is the case below]. But...when a film [such as this] is screened at one of the biggest LGBT film festivals in the world...cause for confusion arises - and, after watching it - a cause of concern is established.

What is Devin Shears saying? We're all familiar with the Nature/Nurture debate...that's not what's going on here, this is more situational. We all know that same-sex relations are rife in prison...but, that doesn't automatically brand the participants as being homosexual. They do what they do because of the situation that they are in. Harvey is not in prison...but, he is in a prison of his own-making...that of loneliness. Instead of buying a dog, Harvey exposes himself to a completely new community, a gay subculture no less. A desperate measure in a despairing time...just as loneliness is an abstract noun, Harvey enters the world of abstract situational sexuality! Move aside, Dr Freud!

Will he bask...or, will he wallow? That's where film film could have gone, if less time had been spent on the bimbling. Cherub is a tiny film, with a tiny budget and a great big heart. Think of it as a very long short film that has the potential of becoming a feature.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Harvey (Benjamin Turnbull) is a middle-aged, overweight biologist. He lives a lonely life, often feeling invisible on his daily commute and starving for interaction. He spends his time photographing plants and visiting his comatose father in the hospital. While browsing an adult bookshop, he unearths a gay magazine called Cherub, “For big men and their admirers.” Curious and nervous, he submits a photo to the magazine’s Cherub of the Month contest.

Cast & Characters

Benjamin Turnbull (as Harvey)
Manfred Becker (as Sick Man)
Yuula Benivolski (as Streetcar Rider / Winter Student)
Niko Block (as Sauna Patron)
Kateryna Bratchyna (as Scientist)
Anouk Cornelissen-May (as Child (voice))
Eva Crocker (as Woman with Dog)
Yeimy Daza (as Summer Student)
Alicia K. Harris (as Streetcar rider)
Alex Hennessey (as Video Store Clerk)
Peter Howie (as Scientist)
Taikun Kambashi (as Winter Student)
Alireza Keymanesh (as Streetcar Rider)
Anton Krasov (as Conservatory Couple)
Zachary Lacosse (as Streetcar Rider)
Kaitlyn Leewing (as Streetcar Rider)
Mithila Majithia (as Streetcar Rider)
Sandy May (as Mother (voice))
Rob McLay (as Winter Student)
Erin Mick (as Dream Woman in Courtyard)
Ryan Nesbitt (as Summer Student)
Nova (as Crying Dog)
Rebeca Ortiz (as Summer Student)
Eva Popkova (as Conservatory Couple)
Tavis Putnam (as Winter Student)