“Tomorrow” — A Queer Short Film Review
Ah — that high school crush on your best friend, questioning whether you are just close buddies — or perhaps something more. Add in the uncertainty of the future when you’re both seniors about to head off to college and a New Year’s Eve party to welcome in the new millennium, you’ve got the gist of “Tomorrow”! This coming of age queer short film is rather stunning to watch, a simple story that’s actually full of depth in it’s unspoken dialogue. But let’s break it down, shall we?
Synopsis for “Tomorrow”
Best friends Trevor (Zachary Roozen) and Clark (Daniel Rashid) are relaxing on the grass at the city’s overlook, chatting randomly about their plans when they graduate high school and head off to college next year. When Sarah () and the others finally arrive, Trevor changes the status quo. He asks Clark to be his wingman while he finally makes the move on Sarah. Reluctantly, Clark agrees. As a group, they watch the sun set over the town — the last sunset of the millennium. Later at the New Year’s Eve house party, the three of them are dancing to the live band. But Sarah seems to have her own agenda. When she asks Trevor to get her another drink, she makes her move on Clark but pulling him further onto the dance floor to dance and get closer. Except Clark gets shy and ends up running away, right past Trevor making them drinks. Trevor follows Clark, asking about Sarah and how it was going. But they get distracted when a few other students run past and jump into the pool.
Clark says, “Let’s go for it!”. Trevor chugs his drink in agreement, before they both strip down to their underwear and jump in! After a bit of playful wrestling in the pool, Trevor swims over to the side. But when Clark follows, there’s a moment of awkwardness as they both gaze at each other. But that moment is broken when Trevor mentions that Sarah is waiting for her drink, climbing out of the pool. While they towel dry, it’s hard to not notice that Clark’s eyes are watching Trevor. Back inside at the party, Sarah comes up to Clark asking where he’s been. But Clark says he needs to leave to catch the bus home. “Don’t go, it’s almost midnight” Sarah begs before leaning in to kiss Clark. Which is right when Trevor walks in! Clark runs off to the bedroom while the rest of the partygoers start counting down to midnight. Trevor is clearly angry and upset at Clark, they end up fighting and actually wrestling. Before long, Clark is pinned down on the floor with Trevor straddled atop of him. Suddenly Trevor leans down and kisses a shocked Clark as the clock strikes midnight.
While Trevor pulls back a bit to test Clark’s reaction, before long they’re making out and letting their emotions take control. But things don’t last long as Trevor pulls away again. This time though, Trevor gets up and walks out of the room leaving Clark still surprised on the floor. The following morning, the sun rises on the new millennium — and the left over mess from the party the night before Trevor is out by the pool, thinking to himself and Clark slowly makes his way back into the living room. When Trevor comes back inside, things are a bit tense and awkward between the two boys, especially Sarah wakes up on the couch between them and asks for a ride home. Equally, the drive back is quiet and awkward. Trevor is focusing on driving, but Clark keeps looking over at him as if he wants to say something but can’t put it into words. Finally they arrive at Clark’s, and they still say nothing so Clark gets out and starts to walk inside. But Trevor rolls down the passenger window and yells out to Clark, causing Clark to return to the car. Trevor hands him his camera — followed by his hand for a handshake. “See you tomorrow?”, Trevor asks him? Clark doesn’t answer, but shakes Trevor’s hand. While Trevor drives away, Clark snaps a photo before finally smiling.
The Critique
It was difficult to find anything to really critique about Leandro Tadashi‘s Queer short film, “Tomorrow” — I simply enjoyed it! If I must nitpick, then the only thing I could address is that the storyline isn’t new. Two high school best friends; one who clearly has a crush on the other, yet the feelings are potentially reflected in return. Or is it the alcohol from the party? Yes, the story has been told before — so what. This script, written by Joshua Paul Johnson, is not only succinct in getting the story across in only thirteen minutes, but has a nice flow to the dialogue. More importantly, we’re gifted with moments without dialogue; moments that actually hold an entire conversation between what’s unspoken. It’s awkward, it raises questions and creates drama between our characters — but it’s realistic. They’re there for a reason, and they certainly move the story along.
But a well written script is nothing without talented actors to bring the characters and story to life. Both Daniel Rashid and Zachary Roozen are not only great to look at, but they share a chemistry between them that has us questioning if their friendship really is something a bit more. Rashid is that cute, yet awkward guy at school while Roozen is more the jock/popular kid. But rather than dwell on who they are, this short simple focuses on the present friendship — and that question of potential romance. Director Leandro Tadashi does an excellent job of wrangling everything together into a captivating short film. But let’s not forget the other key aspects — cinematographically, “Tomorrow” is quite a work of art. From the stunningly captured and framed sunset and sunrise over, to the craziness of the high school house party, to the blue light hues of the pool scene — all the separate puzzle pieces fit together into a well produced, finished short film.
While some folks couldn’t look past the “I’ve already seen this story before” attitude, I really enjoyed “Tomorrow”. Yes, we have seen queer shorts (and even a few queer feature films) that deal with the high school coming of age/coming out/crush on your best friend storyline. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have more! After all, queer representation in film is still behind and lacking. But more importantly, “Tomorrow” is well made: a short film that delivers a simple storyline in a beautiful way. Give it a watch — I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Queer Relevance of “Tomorrow”
This queer short was a bit tricky to place within the spectrum. It most certainly is a Queer/Questioning film because the boys share a rather intimate first kiss — most likely the first time either has kissed another guy. From the start, it’s clear that Clark has a crush on his friend Trevor — but does that mean Clark is gay? Interestingly, it’s actually Trevor who kisses Clark first — so is Trevor really as straight as he comes across? After all the awkward glances and the tumultuous first kiss, we don’t actually get an answer to either of these questions! But that’s the beauty of “Tomorrow” and why it’s fitting addition to the Queer short film genre.
Plot & Script: 1.0 / 1.0
Casting & Acting: 1.0 / 1.0
Directing & Editing: 1.0 / 1.0
Cinematography: 1.0 / 1.0
My Opinion: 1.0 / 1.0
My Overall Rating = 5.0 / 5.0
Originally published on HERE. If you enjoyed this queer film review, you can find many more over at QueerFilmReviews.com!