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Better Late Then Never

The acting in this movie is really good.

I enjoyed this movie more than I expected to but less than other reviewers. My biggest problem is the relationship between the two lead characters -- I never believed in it. It was ACTED, not EXPERIENCED, by the two actors.Their love scenes were so tightly choreographed to the cloyingly sweet soundtrack that they came off as cold and mechanical. It was like watching ballet dancers, not lovers. That may be either because the straight actors needed a rigid scenario to follow since there was no genuine sexual dynamic between them or because the director didn't know how else to stage those scenes. Either way, it's the director's fault.They were more believable outside the bedroom. There the actors were somewhat freer to be themselves and allow the characters to interact as persons, not having to try to force themselves to act like lovers. The story is fairly interesting but not quite believable.

I watched the movie knowing about the accusation of "pinkwashing", and having watched this movie, I have to agree to a certain extent that there is some sort of propaganda in this film. Being funded by Israel Film Fund should be a big red flag, as it had to somehow approve the script before the film got filmed. I had no idea that Israel is so gay-friendly before watching the film, but the almost rigid "Israel, gay haven; Palestine, hell on earth" seems too unrealistic, given that there are other Israeli films that say the otherwise ("Yossi & Jagger", for example). And personally I find the description of Israel as a gay haven not so credible too, given that it is a highly religious place and is somehow still socially conservative, but correct me if I am wrong. The opening of the film resembles 2011's "Weekend" a lot, as pointed out by other reviewers too. However, don't expect "Out In The Dark" to have the same emotional depth as the other critically acclaimed film - the characters in "Out In The Dark" are almost all one- dimensional. Roy seems to exist in the film only to love Nimer unconditionally; there is no attempt to explain his love for Nimer or why he would try so hard to be together with Nimer. The plot seems out of touch with reality and even ridiculous because we all know how shallow gay men can be, and without explaining why Roy is attracted to Nimer beyond his physical beauty, the plot falls apart easily. But this movie isn't all bad. Beyond the occasional gaps in the film, which require the audience's full attention to really understand the whole picture, the movie has touched on some universal topics in the LGBT+ community that we must all acknowledge: forbidden love, the fear of being kicked out and disowned by one's family, and the fragility of same-sex relationships. The main actors, though being limited by the feeble script, played the characters well and are obviously eye candies, so if you're watching this movie, you're in for a treat. I would recommend this movie because it reminds us of the fact that beyond the golden surface of the contemporary LGBT+ community, there are still people in the world struggling to survive because of their sexual orientations. And the relationship portrayed in the film, though shallow, shows the strength of what we can do if we come together in this fight towards ignorance and prejudice.

A formidably engaging queer output from Israel, my second entry into this particular scenario after Haim Tabakman's EYES WIDE OPEN (2009, 6/10). OUT IN THE DARK is director Michael Mayer's debut feature, and he co-writes the script of an arresting drama wrestles with coming-out, domestic conflict, political witch-hunt, social discrimination against homosexuality with appalling atrocity. It touches on many thorny and grim issues of the facts-of-life in the middle east (perceptively chooses Palestine and Israel, the two adjacent foes, for their utter incompatibility in politics and religions, whereas love can conquer these all), tellingly and touchingly eulogizes an ode to the true love's indestructible strength albeit a gloomy future is probably anticipating for the star-crossed lovers Nimr (Jacob), a Palestinian student and Roy (Aloni), a young lawyer from Israel. A powerful gut-punch followed by a chilling emotional shake is my instant feeling of the uncertain and ambiguous ending, it is abrupt but also perfect, since a self-deceptive happy ending is not likely in any case, at the very end, Roy sacrifices his promise for Nimr's safety, who is totally entrapped in the menacing reality and has no one to rely on except him, being a stowaway is by far the only way out for Nimr, at least he can survive, as long as he is alive, there is hope for a reunion, this is the optimistic leitmotif "love can always find a way" which strikes as a potent leap of faith for audience. The unresting and wobbly camera-work intrepidly creates a claustrophobic environment both for the movie's suffocating tensions and the arousing intimacy, as a first-time project, Mayer has the real knack to organize a compelling story with succinct cuts and minimal elements, also his attention to details is a great trait for this line of work. For instance, in the halfway, when Nimr forfeits his border pass to enter Tel Aviv, he can only communicate with Roy through telephone, after a distressing phone call, the camera gives a close-up to Nimr's cellphone on the floor, which he leaves behind in anxiety, the close-up certainly suggests the phone is playing a role to the plot, after a verbal dispute with his brother Nabil (Khoury), he heads back but doesn't pick up the phone. But Mayer hasn't forgotten it, in the next shot, Roy's sister Abir (Daw) accidentally reads an SMS from Roy, it sounds quite drab in written form, but during the viewing, it is this acuteness in details makes the narrative work with credibility. Two gorgeous males play Nimr and Roy, Nicholas Jacob is a non-professional but sympathetically extracts his raw sex appeal and inexorable desperation to the scenes where is needed. Michael Aloni, a pure eye-candy and exudes great force of personality as Roy, the lover-cum-savior for Nimr, he is the one who can exit with a clean slate, but against all odds, he sticks around and never give up hope, Aloni competently strides onto the top tier in my Supporting Actor category. So, the film is an outstanding drama evokes soul-searching reverberations for its viewers with a rather mature execution for a debut feature, recommended to all non-prejudiced cinephiles.

The film looks at the issue of homosexuality in a very humanistic way. It should be appreciated. "Out in Dark" also targets this very important matter that ordinary and innocent people are the main victims of political conflicts between the government. And also various governmental or militia agents who try to prevent two persons for loving each other instead of solving the main problems of the country.Hopefully this film will have some effect in the Arab world which is quite harsh with homosexuals. It's quite sad that the mother of the younger gay in the film even does not want to talk to his son over the phone just because he is gay.In General I think the film is a "must see".