As You Are
- Director: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
- Writer: Madison Harrison; Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
- Producer: Joe Aliberti; Sean Patrick Burke
CGiii Comment
When someone becomes the centre of your universe...
It takes a brave director to start a film with the end...sustaining interest becomes a mighty chore, that is, if you are not equipped for the job. Miles Joris-Peyrafitte is - mightily - equipped for the job.
This film - quite deservedly - won the Special Jury Prize @ Sundance:
"To acknowledge a film we feel embodies the spirit of independence that Sundance represents. It's also a film that harkens the arrival of a bold, first time director with a command of their craft. We find much to admire in this remarkable reworking of the traditional coming of age narrative, we will eagerly await the next vision meets creator."
We couldn't agree more...the onscreen relationship between the two boys is a beauty [and a joy] to behold...capturing - perfectly - the confusion of blooming sexuality in those pre-internet days of the 1990s...with Kurt Cobain resonating in the background...
Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be...
It's not an easy film to watch...especially, the abusive father, a man most ill-equipped for fatherhood...but, when the two boys - stoned as they are - evolve, the screen lights up. But, as the beginning tells us...that light is soon to be extinguished. Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, skillfully, keeps us on the edge of our seat...until the last second.
As You Are is an incredible reminder of just how remote people were before the internet...let's face it, the internet has become the first port-of-call for those seeking help/advice/comfort - indeed, it's a sanctuary.
As You Are has been - woefully - ignored by most LGBT film festivals! A crying shame...because, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte is a true, fresh, independent talent...with a voice that screams to be heard!
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Set in the early 1990s, As You Are unfolds as a series of disparate memories. Prompted by a police investigation, we witness alternating perspectives of pivotal moments in the relationship between three teenage friends: Jack, Mark, and Sarah. Bound by their aversion to the culture around them, Jack and Mark explore the limits of friendship and love until Mark's judgmental father tears them apart.
Just as Jack and Sarah are adjusting to life without Mark, he gets unexpectedly thrown back into their lives. The two boys struggle to navigate complex emotions that are compounded by the disapproval they feel from all around. Ultimately, tensions rise to a boiling point, and tragedy echoes through their world.
Cast & Characters
Owen Campbell as Jack;
Charlie Heaton as Mark;
Amandla Stenberg as Sarah;
John Scurti as Detective Erickson;
Scott Cohen as Tom;
Mary Stuart Masterson as Karen;
Andrew Polk as Jeff;
Annemarie Lawless as Margaret;
Billy Thomas Myott as James;
John Romeo as Gas Station Attendant