Latter Days (2004)

Latter Days has a strong story/premise going for it in that is deals with one persons discovery his homosexuality as a sincere, and devoted member of the CLDS. There was a lot of great material to work with here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amongst the cast and yet almost all of the performances are extremely weak (except for the main character's mother played by Debra Jo Rupp). Everything was so predictably handled that the viewer knew what was going to happen several scenes in advance. All of this the result of a poor script and poor direction.

I'll start by saying I don't know how to review this film without hazarding a spoiler. I have an Aaron in my life, and I'm his gay buddy/lover. When Latter Days was first available, there wasn't a copyright problem and I made it a bookmark. When the copyright owner protested the film's use, and the copies were pulled, I lost my bookmark. I can no longer view my homage to my friend. His attempt at suicide wasn't unsuccessful and he is gone. I used to watch the film to shed a few tears for my friend. I'm aware that other viewers don't think the story accurate. I can attest that Latter Days is as right on as to the attitude of the Mormon Church as a story involving faithfulness in the face of adversity could possibly be. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my appreciation, for your making the film available to a gay man who needed the access for a long time after he lost his friend. RobtheElder

This roller coaster of a movie has you up one minute almost wetting yourself with laughter and then almost blubbering like a schoolgirl into a snotty hanky the next. Put simply it is a modern day gay love story, but it is so much more than that, taking a look at uniting love from different sides of a religious divide as it does. It had mixed reactions from the critics when it was released in 2003/4 and barely broke even on the production costs, yet it garnered many awards from various lesbian and gay film festivals from all over the world.Briefly Latter Days is the love story of Aaron Davis, played by Steve Sandvoss and Christian Markelli acted by Wes Ramsey who come from different sides of the religious tracks, so much so that it might as well be different worlds. It's these seemingly insurmountable differences that provide the bulk of the films content, substance and emotion. Aaron is a young Elder of the Mormon Church Of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, yep a Mormon missionary, he desperately wants to do his family proud and is quite passionate about his religion, he's also passionate about film. He is sent to the big bad city of Los Angeles with three fellow missionaries to preach the word of god, Mormon style. These three men of 'god' move into an apartment next door to Christian and his roommate Julie, who are both waiters with dreams, she's a singer and he's a err party boy! At first glance, Christian seems a rather shallow character who only looks forward to shagging a new guy every night. This shallow and emotional carefree existence is amplified no end when he makes a $50 bet with a work colleague that he will bed one of the three newly arrived missionaries before the end of the month. He works fast and latches on to Aaron, the most inexperienced missionary and makes an assumption he has a closet gay guy. Now there are a few problems from here on for the two heroes of the piece, firstly Christian is falling for Aaron, secondly Aaron thinks Christian is a shallow 'shag anything' sort of guy and thirdly, most importantly the Mormon church doesn't do gay very well. What follows is a tangled tale of battles and woe as first they are discovered in a romantic clinch and their love and sexual identity is forced out in the open. A cavalcade of emotion erupts for the two, as they have to go through the emotional ringer with things like regret, loss; perseverance, forgiveness and courage which all vie for mental head-space. Is it going to be a happy ending, can love conquer such a vast religious divide? I suppose you will just have to watch the film to find out, all I will say is it is a well-crafted picture laying emotion down thick, fast and heavy and really should have got a better reaction that it originally amassed. The story is well written and put together in a completely honest, frank and believable way. There are several issues raised during the course of the movie regarding not just gay, but any relationships where such a religious obstacle and difference is in place. For me, the movie only works because of that, take it away and you are left with little more than candy-floss. It is a passionate little film, with a passionate and powerful story to tell and I am so glad they made it. The Toronto Sun said it was "The most important gay movie of the last few years" whereas the LA Times chimed in with "At once romantic, earthy and socially critical. Latter Days is a dynamic film filled with humour and pathos". I for one cannot argue with those sentiments for as I said before the film is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Gary Booher of Affirmation – a lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender Mormon organisation praised the films accuracy "It was so realistic that it was scary. I felt exposed as the particulars of my experience and of others I know was brazenly spread across the big screen for all to behold" Those thoughts are echoed the bucket loads of positive comments received from former Mormons, excommunicated from the church because of their sexuality. It really is a powerful and honest emotive film about a subject that is not often covered in gay or even mainstream cinema. Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

A romantic homosexual movie that touches us deeply. I do love it and so do many of my gay friends.Its story is not only about love but also about friendship, which completes the movie. The plot is so enjoyable to watch and makes us stay watching no matter how long its duration is. Moreover, the plot is so sexual, which powerfully results in the going up and down of sexual tension we might feel.The actors and actresses gives their best in performances here, especially the two main actors, Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey. It's lovely and desirable to watch two hot lads having their first time sex after having sincerely struggled together for true happiness and for living life as their own selves. Its happy ending will stay memorable in our mind and be beautifully saved in our heart, as it's done to me. Wonderful!!!