THE CREW is one of my FAV-O-RITE movies!!! After I became a huge Jeremy Sisto fan, I read a few reviews about this movie. It seemed like such an interesting story that I just had to see it, and although getting it was a challenge, (it took from '97 to '99) it was well worth the wait!!!
***CAUTION, if you have NOT seen this movie yet and do not want any spoilers, please do not continue reading!!! I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who's trying to find this movie because it's VERY HARD to find!!!
Cast:
Viggo Mortensen as PHILLIP
Donal Logue as BILL PIERCE
Jeremy Sisto as TIM, or if you prefer, TIMOTHY GRANT, ESQ.
Pamela Gidley as JENNIFER PIERCE
John Philbin as ALEX
Laura Del Sol as CAMILLA MARQUEZ
Sam Jenkins as CATHERINE DRIFTWOOD
Grace Zabriskie as GLORIA
Directed by Carl-Jan Colpaert
From: CINEVILLE
Released in Russia (Element Video)
The story: It's a tough time for Bill (Donal Logue). He is just getting over the suicide death of his mother Gloria (Grace Zabriskie) and is beginning to suspect that his beautiful wife Jennifer (Pamela Gidley) is sneaking around with Alex (John Philbin). Bill's brother-in-law Phillip (Viggo Mortensen) invites Bill, Jenn, Alex and a pretty gal named Catherine (Sam Jenkins) to go out cruising the Carribean on his beautiful white yacht. But their leisurely travels are interrupted when they see a boat burning nearby and rescue the two distraught people on board: the beautiful Camilla (Laura Del Sol) and the confused Tim (Jeremy Sisto), a young (very young it looks like) woman who used to be a male and had the big operation. A strange brew of adventure and drama, this is a look at what happens when people who would clash if brought together are brought together. In an act of pure desparation, Tim and Camilla take Phillip, Bill and the others hostage so that they can travel to the nearest reef to anchor and wait for Tim's lover, George, who is supposed to help Tim to illegally smuggle Camilla into the U.S. As the conflict progresses from a simmer to a boil, the perceptions you may have first formed in the beginning will come tumbling down as the tensions come to a head, revealing in Phillip a frightening violence and bigotry, and in Bill a compassion borne of Gloria's demise, while the seemingly dangerous, gun-flashing Tim unwillingly reveals a frail soul that George has crushed more than once.
Thoughts that come to me while viewing this awesome movie: I find a lot of Viggo's dialogue very funny, even though it's hateful and insulting to Tim. It's the kind of "guilty pleasure" laughter stemming from a personality I developed thanks in part to my dear old Pop. This same trait is what makes me wish I could watch all those banned Bugs Bunny cartoons although I know it's wrong to laugh at blatant racism. Moving along, Viggo did a tremendous job playing such an unlikeable character, so my hat's off to him. Also, I can feel the huge sense of regret and disappointment that Tim feels with "her" new sexual status, especially when Phillip calls her "a bad talk show topic" and "a freak" and laughs at Tim when "she" compares herself to Catherine Deneuve. Since Tim still has an obviously masculine voice, she doubtlessly is constantly reminded of who she used to be, and she compensates with a sweet, sassy, swaying walk. (Oh my God, this IS strange!!!) Jeremy Sisto was beyond compare. Nobody else could have given "Tim" that degree of life, which is so vibrant that you feel your breath whoosh out of you in shock and disbelief when that fire is suddenly snuffed out by a hateful force.
I HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who loves Jeremy Sisto, Viggo Mortensen or independent films with controversial, provocative subject matter. In spite of some peoples' beliefs that this movie contains anti-gay themes, I see it as a compelling, heartbreaking story dealing with racism, homophobia and hate crimes.
Pictures
Still caps
Cineville/USA Official Site
Released in Sweden through SF Video
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