★★★ | Truth
When middle-aged Jeremy turns up at the coffee shop for a first date with Caleb a young barista he met online he thinks he has hit the jackpot. The boy is a hottie and a total charmer too, and before you can say ‘I’ll have a latte’ the two men are sitting on the couch holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Back home in Caleb’s rather large house, the sex is hot (it’s sensuous rather than explicit) and a good time is had by all.
Caleb wakes up alone next morning with no sign of his new silver fox lover who has left without even a phone number and who remains incommunicado until he shows up unannounced at the coffee shop three days later. His explanation for his absence is feeble but Caleb thinks ‘this’ could be the real thing so he just accepts Jeremy’s lame excuse. They have some great make-up sex and declare their undying love to each other and are prepared to live happily ever after. But it’s what they don’t tell each other over the next few months that is going to shape their futures and not in a way that either had hoped and wanted.
Pill popping Caleb suffers from a borderline personality disorder and has not disclosed that the mother he claimed had died is a psychotic alcoholic, who had abused him, is now in an institution. When Jeremy hearing part of the story thinks he is helping by locating the mother, Caleb, and the plot, start to fall apart.
Jeremy it turns out has also his own big secret and when Caleb uncovers this nine months into their relationship he loses it completely. This overwrought melodrama suddenly changes tack and turns into a psychological thriller as Caleb holds the older man captive until he learns the whole truth.
Caleb is played by Sean Paul Lockhart, who in a previous life was Brent Corrigan a porn actor/star. To give him full credit Lockhart gives his all, clothed and often naked -and shows that he put in a very credible performance even given some of the howlers that pepper this whole script.
Written and directed by Rob Moretti (Crutch) who also cast himself to play the part of Jeremy which was probably not the best decision. Moretti is a competent actor but had he kept behind the camera he may have noticed that there were too many histrionics (don’t get me started on the foul-mouthed speeches of Caleb’s over-the-top mother…). And including such a loud dramatic soundtrack will (sadly) not drown out some of the wince making script.
There’s a message in here somewhere about child abuse and how it can create monsters about the victims too, but the oddest thing about a movie with a title like this, is none of it seemed remotely truthful at all.
If you are a fan of Brent Corrigan than you will like seeing him all grown up and showing so successfully that he has a life beyond porn. His wardrobe/costume provider quite rightly gets its own mention in the Credits: it’s Andrew Christian.
