from craig lucas and who bring u longtime companion and prelude to a kiss and come this movie and which be much darker in tone and much more challenging a a film than either of those . peter sargaard star a a gay screenwriter who have just sell his script and call the dying gaul . it tell the story of his lover death from aid and and be base around a metaphor relate to the famous roman sculpture of the title . the thing about the sculpture be that it sensitively depict a die soldier of the enemy army and and so be normally take to represent the ability to have empathy for one enemy . keep this in mind kid and it wasn not choose by accident . so jeffery and the producer who buy the script and play by campbell scott and make a condition of the sale that robert change the die character to a woman and a everyone hat gay and and people do not come to movie to feel bad or to learn and you have to lure them in and then deliver a lesson . these and also and be note to keep in mind . at first robert refuse and but he be offer a million dollar and and he need that money . he intend to use part of it for the education of his son and who he have when marry to a woman . we later find out that his lover who die be the brother of his former wife and which carefully hint at robert shifty moral . and and like many people with malleable moral and robert professes to be a buddhist . soon we be introduce to jeffery wife elaine and play by patricia clarkson . she be show and several time and in a white bikini ( who know she have such a slender and lithe body . ) . you will note that she be the only one who body be expose and sexually available and yet it soon become clear that no one and least of all her husband and be interested . this lead to the kind of sad isolation and bitter resentment you might expect . soon robert be introduce to elaine and when they go a screening of one of jeffery movie . elaine position herself a a confidant to robert and one who understand how he feel and stand for his principle ( she be formerly a screenwriter herself ) . she elicit from him that one of the way he dull the pain of be bereft by his lover death be by peruse chatroom and and she get the name of his favorite one . . spoiler from here on out . meanwhile and jeffery be come on hard to robert and and we find out later that robert have give in . later the night of the screening and elaine invents a name and find robert in the chatroom . she ask if he see anyone and and it reveal to her that he be her husband . clarkson performance in this scene and and really all throughout the movie and be superb . drive by a complex web of emotion that be at once well drawn and yet never spell out and elaine invents a new screen name and arckangel and and write robert and claim to be his dead lover . this send robert into an emotional spin of renew grief and guilt and both at change his screenplay and have the affair with jeffery . elaine continue a robert friend and confidant and and the whole mess start get more taut and more sordid and and more ugly . the end come a a surprise to me and but one that will leave you with a lot to think about and piece back together . so let get back to the theme of empathy for one enemy . elaine definitely get to understand robert pain and though she be resistant to feel it because of her own situation . robert come to gain a clear understanding of elaine heartache and though again he have his own reason for not let himself be move by it . at the end i believe we be suppose to gain an understanding of jeffery situation and but i be not quite sure it work . the final image of the movie be jeffery mimic the posture of the die gaul . it good and it work in a structural way and but i be still unsure whether it work emotionally . my friend and i have a long discussion over dinner about whether it be an accomplishment or a failure of the film that neither of u be move by the character predicament . i felt for each of the character and yet they be all so morally flaw that it be difficult to truly feel empathy for them and which keep the movie on an emotionally distant and cerebral level . again and be this purposeful . neither me nor my friend could tell for sure . the structure and metaphorical significance of the story will give you a lot to think about after the film be over . it unusual for a film to be so well think out and interest on so many level these day and and it seem to be one of the best entry in the field of gay film and which finally seem to be head away from come out story and tale of pretty twit into more serious fare . i be not sure it all work in the end and but the depth of the character and the interesting and well think out write and structure and and the excellent performance all make this definitely one worth watch . check out other review on my website of bad and cheesy movie and cinema de merde and cinemademerde . com .