Rent Loggerheads (2005)

Poignant And Haunting. - Loggerheads review by CP Customer

A story told simultaneously from three different angles and set in three different years, Loggerheads shows the three parties connected by an adoption 21 years before.

Mark’s story is set in 1999, a 21 year old man, he is sleeping rough on the beach in Kure Beach, North Carolina where he studies and protects the loggerhead turtles whose females always return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. Mark is soon befriended by George who owns the local a motel, and who provides a room where Mark can stay. Mark quickly informs George that he is HIV positive, assuming that George's kindness is in exchange for sex. But George is a genuine good samaritan and their friendship grows slowly and with mutual trust they reveal the secrets of their pasts. George's lover drowned in a mysterious accident, Mark ran away from his adoptive parents when they discovered he was gay; both men are tender and vulnerable souls afraid of further commitment.

Set in 2000, the story reveals Mark’s adoptive parents, church minister Rev. Robert Austin and his wife Elizabeth who believe homosexuality is a sin and even resent their neighbour Ruth who places a nude statue of Michelangelo’s David on her front lawn. The couple's estranged son Mark is rarely discussed and the adoptive parents never communicate with him, but neighbour Ruth does. Ruth finally confides to Mark’s adoptive mother that he is ill and for Elizabeth the wounds of separation soon become too unbearable to ignore.

Grace’s story is set in 2001, recently recovering from a suicide attempt Grace longs to connect with the son she was forced to give up for adoption at age 17. Now living with her mother who believes Grace should not try to discover the son she never knew. She begins a quest to locate her son and pays a finder to trace him.

Although it sounds extremely complicated, the three separate years of story told simultaneously make complete sense as you are essentially a voyeur into a human drama of immense substance, one that unavoidably binds the contrasting characters. The acting is universally good, with all the lead characters giving highly credible performances. But the real impact of this stunning film is due to the superb writing and direction of Tim Kirkman who takes a story based on difficult issues and shapes it into a realistic, heavily layered and engaging drama. My only criticism of the whole film is that for some reason, (probably the success of Brokeback Mountain), the cover image and description gives the impression that it’s a ‘Gay’ film, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Loggerheads is a poignant, haunting and superb drama, and for anyone who likes low key indie films it’s very highly recommended.