Truth - Rebekah Aramini

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Nero Fiddles" )

directed by Rob Moretti
USA 2013

Scarred from a traumatic childhood raised by a mentally unstable mother (Suzanne Didonna, THE HUNGRY GHOSTS), barista Caleb (Sean Paul Lockhart, MILK) is reticent to get serious with online date Jeremy (Rob Moretti, THE GRAND THEFT), especially after he does not call back after a one night stand. Jeremy, however, is more forthcoming with his own emotional baggage and amazingly patient with Caleb's; but the skeletons Caleb - who has gone off his meds - discovers in Jeremy's closet push him to the breaking point. TRUTH starts out as a story about the emotional baggage and psychological scars that two people bring to a relationship and try to accept about one another; however, the ending sort of degenerates into something more akin to the theatrical version of FATAL ATTRACTION despite some discussion of each character's perception of the other's greater freedom to be themselves (Caleb's generation, Jeremy's lack of psychological issues that require medication). Moretti somewhat overextends himself as an actor here, coming across as disingenuous rather than conflicted for much of the running time but appropriately traumatized during the final act, but his direction seems more confident throughout. Former adult film actor Lockhart gives a more naturalistic performance overall. The film is mostly told in flashback with SIXTEEN CANDLES's Blanche Baker as a psychiatrist interviewing Caleb; however, this does not rob the story of its suspense (although Jeremy's betrayal could be seen coming early on).

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: 11 February 2014 (USA)

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DVD Review: Canteen Outlaws/TLA Releasing - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Canteen Outlaws/TLA Releasing Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:33:39
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.43 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	English*, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Canteen Outlaws/TLA Releasing Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by writer/director/actor Rob Moretti and actor Sean Paul Lockhart • Stranger Than Fiction: The Making of 'Truth' (16:9; 14:05) • Deleted & Extended Scenes (16:9; 25:25) • Additional Special Thanks (16:9; 1:59) • Trailer (16:9; 1:46) • Trailers for 'Cal', 'Hawaii', and 'The Last Match' DVD Release Date: 6 May 2014 Amaray Chapters 18

Comments

This first release by Canteen Outlaws - TLA Releasing's gay offshoot label - is slick but not without some rough edges. The HD lensed production is given a serviceable single-layer encoding (the look of the film seems to favor a certain amount of softness with the dark interiors and flashbacks), and the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are okay but not home theater demo material. There is no subtitle selection in the menu but there are optional English subtitles; however, they are awkwardly formatted (some three or four lines) and start to lag behind the dialogue early on (catching up sometimes before lagging again) and have the look of badly-converted closed captioning file.

Extras start off with a commentary track featuring director/actor Moretti and actor Lockhart in which they reveal that the original title was NERO FIDDLES - the name of the horse Jeremy buys for Caleb - scoring better locations from the ones planned when things fell through (as well as some of the limitations for shooting on public locations), and the awkwardness of shooting sex scenes (directed by Lockhart makes a few remarks about his "former career"). The deleted scenes are mainly scene extensions, but also some uninterrupted flashback scenes that were fragmented in the final edit. The behind the scenes featurette focuses on the shoot, Moretti's excitement to work with actress Blanche Baker, his preference for directing the scenes he did not appear in, and the dedication of his actors. The extras are rounded out by a trailer for the film and trailers for three other forthcoming Canteen Outlaws titles.

- Eric Cotenas

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