Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

just watch it!

Awesome Movie

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

At the beginning of 'Loggerheads', we're introduced to three pairs of seemingly unrelated characters. To make matters even more confusing, we're informed (via titles on the screen) that the action is taking place in three separate time lines (between the years 1999 and 2001). It takes a great deal of time but eventually we come to see how the three pairs are related: Mark Austin, a young man in his 20s, gay and HIV Positive is estranged from his conservative parents, Elizabeth and Rev. Robert Austin. Mark is now a drifter and arrives in Kure Beach, North Carolina, a seaside town, where he meets George (sensitively played by Michael Kelly), a gay motel owner and they eventually become involved with each other. Meanwhile, Mark's birth mother, Grace (played by Bonnie Hunt) has come to the point in her life where she has decided to find the son she gave up for adoption when she was 17. Similarly, Mark's adoptive mother, also has decided to track her estranged son as she misses him (despite the misgivings of her homophobic minister husband).'Loggerheads' we're told is based on a true story and that perhaps is its Achilles Heel. Director/Writer Tim Kirkman tries too hard to create scenes fraught with dramatic tension where there is very little to be found. Take Mark and George—they're both sensitive souls who have little to disagree about. There's some slight tension when Grace faces off against an Adoption Agency Director who is forbidden by law to give her any information about her lost son as well as a slight conflict with her mother who denies that she disapproved of her when she became pregnant as a teenager. No sparks fly either between Elizabeth and Robert since the good Reverend has adamantly insisted from the beginning that he has no intention of reconciling with his son. 'Loggerheads' is similar to 'Brokeback Mountain' in that the gay couple are the good guys and the straight males (for example, the Kure Beach cop and the Reverend) are the baddies. The biggest letdown of the movie is that there is no interaction (and hence no dramatic conflict) between Mark and either one of his 'mothers'. Mark is already dead before either the birth or adoptive mother has a chance to reconcile with him. Kirkman's theme is both a plea for tolerance and an exhortation for family members to express their heartfelt feelings before it's too late! Kirkman's sentiments are for the most part well-intentioned but they do not make for good drama. Loggerheads moves along at a snail's pace without providing any new revelations (or suspense) regarding such topics as AIDS, Adoption and Homophobia. Ultimately 'Loggerheads' fails due to its slow pacing.

If you catch this movie on TV or better yet go out and find it, you will not be disappointed.Every performance is brilliant. Kip Pardue is not just a pretty face, and gives a tortured, haunting performance. Bonnie Hunt shows what range she has, I wish she had more chance to do films like this, rather than Cheaper By The Dozen (though I'm sure she had her reason's). I'd fallen in love with Michael Kelly by the end, he is totally perfect throughout the entire film, and so different than in Dawn Of The Dead, what a great actor! The film is handled maturely, direction is sound, all performances stunning, as I said, the 3 story lines set over 3 years get wound together neatly, so many of these types of narrative threads feel contrived.All in all a beautiful film, that doesn't need to whack home the gay card. It's intelligent, subtle, gentle, intriguing, tender, and terribly sad.

I can't say enough about this film! It is simply beautiful to watch, although the pacing may be a bit slow for mainstream audiences.The writing brilliantly weaves three different (yet connected) stories told over three separate time periods. If you pay attention, it will not be hard to follow and the emotional pay off is worth it. The acting is so subtle it draws you in and keeps hold of you until the very end. The cinematographer overwhelms the screen with gorgeous shots of the ocean and sunsets you can practically feel the mists off the waves and the heat from the sun.If you like films that focus on character development over big budgets and hyper action sequences, this film is not to be missed.

I rented Loggerheads this past weekend and I can not begin to say how grateful that I am to have picked up that video.Loggerheads is the most beautiful, mesmerizing movie that I have had the pleasure to view in a very long time. Too many times, movies as beautiful as this are put on the shelves at the local blockbuster to be passed by, when they deserve to have their own section and be spotlighted.From the mesmerizing scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the beaches of North Carolina, Tim Kirkman gives us a breathtaking view while enriching us with a magnificent and heart wrenching story of a lonely drifter, his birth mother, his adoptive family and how their stories all tie together.It's 1999 and Mark, played by the beautiful and very talented Kip Pardue, is a drifter sleeping on the beach (Kure Beach) after leaving home at the age of 17. He is trying to save the endangered "Loggerhead Sea Turtles". This is symbolic as the story unfolds because the Loggerhead Turtles lay their eggs in their nest on the beach and then the mother's abandon them. The eggs are hatched and the babies find their way to the open sea by following the moonlight. And every year, somehow, the turtles find their way back to the same beach to lay their eggs again. Mark as you will discover, feels abandoned in much the same way.He befriends George, played by the handsome and amazing Michael Kelly, is a very sweet soul who takes Mark in and gives him a friend and a place to stay. He becomes Mark's confidant and eventually his love.The story takes place in 3 different years, which Mr. Kirkman takes great strides to help us, the audience, always know the year we are in.In early 2001, we are introduced to Elizabeth and Robert, played by Tess Harper and Chris Sarandon. Robert is a minister in a small town called Eden. Elizabeth is his wife and we learn that they had an adopted son whom left home years ago upon their learning he was gay. They are very old fashioned in their beliefs and therefore, they let him go, never to try and find him. Thus, abandoning him, in my book. Elizabeth tries to come to terms with this decision throughout the movie but realizes as the movie goes on that perhaps this was not the right choice.It's 2002 and Grace (played by the awesome Bonnie Hunt), living in Asheville, N.C. is looking for her son that she gave up at his birth. She was only 16 and her parents forced her to give him up for adoption. Since then she has felt only guilt and grief and needs to find him to feel whole.This beautiful movie is about abandonment, guilt and trying to resolve these feelings. It shows us insight to why these characters feel the way they do and why they feel the need to change. It gives us a character such as Mark, who is sick, yet manages to stay positive with his own beliefs but yet is so full of emptiness and yearning for something that he needs.I can't say how very beautiful and poetic this movie is. I can only recommend that you rent or purchase it.