The Compatriots (2024)

-Written by John Cajio.

The Compatriots is one of those films that I initially thought I was going to dislike (and fairly intensely) through the first third or so. By the end of it, however, I found myself wishing the film wasn’t already over. 

Written, directed, and edited by Spencer Cohen, The Compatriots weaves a fairly complex story by the end. Javi (Rafael Silva) and Hunter (Denis Shepherd) are best friends in high school. What starts out as a melodrama around two male friends when one comes out as gay to the other in a rather unexpected way gives way to a story about the lengths they go to save one of them from the clutches of aggressive immigration agents when it comes out he is undocumented. 

The film’s pacing is an overall strength, though there is a fairly significant lull. It opens quickly, and things move apace briskly. Then there’s an abrupt time jump of five years. At this point, things necessarily (perhaps unnecessarily?) slow down as Cohen takes time to establish what everyone generally got up to in the last five years. Hunter becomes disconnected and engages in a series of emotionally unfulfilling one night stands. Javi is working his way through school one semester at a time while supporting both himself and his disabled father. Hunter’s ex-girlfriend Tracy (Caroline Portu) has graduated college with a degree in Latin, and is still figuring out her next steps. And Ryan (Dakota Lustick), Hunter’s one time best friend before Javi arrived on the scene, is a crossing guard with an axe to grind. The board is finally set and the pieces are finally put into play. Things pick up rapidly from here, and once it begins to move with speed again and it becomes an unrelenting force that never lets up—not until the denouement arrives after the predictable but no less entertaining climax do things pull back. 

The performances in The Compatriots are mostly strong, with some occasional unevenness. Silva, Shepherd, and Portu give consistently strong performances throughout the film. Silva, in particular, was terrific. On the other hand, some of the supporting cast members gave stiff, disjointed, or inappropriately over-the-top performances that distracted me from the film. The ICE agents had a small but important role in the film as the (mostly) off-screen villains, but their time on screen was a drag. On the flip side, one supporting cast member to highlight positively is Samantha Gordon, who plays one of Hunter’s one-night stands. She played her part to a comedic tee. 

There are a couple of things to gripe about. One is relatively minor but it was distracting when it occurred. It was apparent on a few occasions throughout the provided screener that the overall color of certain scenes shifted throughout the scene in ways that were not intended. It looked like a color filter was not applied consistently in a scene during post, resulting in a few shifts in color. The other issue is a fairly significant one throughout. Periodically, the text denoting that the film is the property of its production company would plaster itself on the bottom third of the screen. This, on its own, was distracting enough. However, it obscured the English subtitles during multiple pivotal scenes when characters are conversing in Spanish, and that was a real shame.

Overall, The Compatriots is a film with a lot to offer: excellent writing, strong performances, and a general breakneck pace. The Compatriots does not suck.

Written & Directed by Spencer Cohen.

Starring Rafael Diaz, Denis Shepherd, Caroline Portu, Dakota Lustick, etc.

8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING (IT DOES NOT SUCK)