-Written by Kyle Bain.
Suffering through the debilitating failures of a stage play about Abraham Lincoln, stage manager Taffeta (Roger Q. Mason) steps in and attempts to take the stage by storm. While they struggle through many renditions of a new play, Taffeta must face the realities of both theater and the real world. Lavender Men is a drama that dives deep into the human psyche, the human experience, and the relationships we form along the way.
Lavender Men is ultimately about LGBTQ+ liberation, emotional liberation. However, it sort of transcends humankind in this regard, expressing to viewers the importance of accepting yourself for who you are, but always looking forward to a better future. It’s never a bad thing to want to improve on your current situation; it’s never a bad thing to want to do better–and that’s where Taffeta exists throughout the course of Lavender Men. They are constantly looking for ways to improve the play that exists before them, they are always looking for ways to accept themself, and the film ultimately places Taffeta on a pedestal for these reasons. It’s interesting to me that this person that really just wants positive change in the world to be looked at so glowingly–and it’s something that needs to happen more often in popular culture.
The way in which the film moves throughout the theater in which it takes place does sometimes make the film confusing. Sometimes it’s challenging to tell the difference between what’s meant to be a performance and what is the reality of the characters on screen. These things blend, sort of manipulating reality in a way that I sometimes scratched my head, asking “which reality is this?” I think this is Lavender Men’s real hindrance, one of the few things that holds it back from being spectacular. I wanted more of a divide between the pieces of theater and the pieces of Taffeta’s reality–something that would have made it a tad easier to follow.
Mason both works wonders for Lavender Men and also hinders it to a degree. Their voice is smokey, seductive, full of passion–and the fact of the matter is that anyone might hope for this in their drama-filled film. However, there are times when it’s too theatrical, too dramatic (and there’s not much that Mason can do about it). Their voice sometimes feels inorganic as a result of its natural tone–and that does create a challenge throughout the course of the less-dramatic moments of the film (though there are very few). With that said, I think Mason is brilliant in their performance. Lavender Men asks them to be powerful, cripplingly dramatic from nearly start to finish, and they never relent in their performance.
Lavender Men, through ninety-nine percent of its runtime, is effective in painting Taffeta in a positive light. However, as the film prepares to close, when we get closest to Taffeta, begin rooting for them more than ever, something happens. All of the sudden Writer-Director Lovell Holder and Co-Writer Mason decide to present Taffeta negatively. I was lost in that moment–and that’s how the film concludes, on a dud of a decision. I loved most of this film, but as it comes to a close I was left with something damning, something hindering Lavender Men’s overall success.
Directed by Lovell Holder.
Written by Lovell Holder & Roger Q. Mason.
Starring Roger Q. Mason, Pete Ploszek, Alex Esola, Ted Rooney, Charlie Thurston, etc.
8.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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