Friday
29Aug2008
Movie Review - 'Chris & Don: A Love Story'
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 12:06AM Chris & Don: A Love StoryFeaturing Christopher Isherwood, Don Bachardy, and Michael York
Directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara
Not Rated
Love comes in many forms, but a lifelong love like this
is rare for a number of reasons. It does no good to talk about
Chris & Don: A Love Story without acknowledging
that when their relationship began, English writer
Christopher Isherwood was in his late forties
and
Don Bachardy was 18. Or so.
Once you get over whatever feelings that causes, this
new documentary unfolds fairly amiably. Isherwood’s writing made him a sort of
celebrity in the Golden Age of Hollywood, which was also the Dark Ages of
Hollywood Homosexuality. Very few important members of the entertainment
industry were out of the closet then, and to prove he was, Isherwood would spend
the next 40 years or so with a lover more than young enough to be his son. In a
lot of ways, the elder Isherwood played father to Bachardy, encouraging his
painting and artistic endeavors, which would become Don’s livelihood.
Chris & Don plays like a fond memorial service, and
perhaps that’s the target for directors
Guido Santi and
Tina Mascara. The relationship had its ups and
downs, and Isherwood at one point allowed Bachardy to stray, although the
connection to his much older lover proved too strong, especially when Isherwood
developed cancer.
I must confess I had never heard of Isherwood or
Bachardy, not that it's a requirement. Between the age
difference, the secrecy with which other homosexuals carried out their affairs
in the middle of the 20th Century, and with all the change any one
person goes through during a lifetime – much less two people – that we have the ending we have is something of an accomplish itself.
Ultimately, however, I think that might be a bit of a
problem for this movie. I found Chris & Don to be interesting to watch, more interesting to
look at, and slightly less interesting the more it was about its main characters.
Visually, however, there's plenty to like here, including some clever animated
sequences based on Bachardy's own drawings, and loads of helpful archival footage. Perhaps a better title would be A
Love Story: Chris & Don, because in my mind, the story is stands out more
than its characters.
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