Reel advice: Mysterious strangers

Just in time for Pride month, Ben Cotner and Ryan White's same-sex marriage doc The Case Against 8 (HBO Documentary Films), has its cable premiere on June 23 on HBO.

Following the historic gay marriage trajectory, from the 2008 California Supreme Court case ruling permitting same sex couples to marry through the crushing blow of the passage of the Proposition 8 ballot initiative defining marriage in California as being between one man and one woman, and ultimately to the two couples that challenged Prop. 8's constitutionality by filing a lawsuit with the federal government, The Case Against 8 lays it all out for us.

Even though we know the outcome (the good guys won!), because we become intimately acquainted with the plaintiffs – gay male couple Jeff and Paul and lesbian couple Kris and Sandy – The Case Against 8 becomes a nail-biter as we watch the couples swing from high to low through the process that lasted almost five years. As interesting as the couples' stories are, additional details, including their legal representation by Ted Olson, the most prominent conservative lawyer in America who was George W. Bush's solicitor general (and won the contentious Bush v. Gore 2000 recall vote, halting the Florida recall count, giving us four more years of Bush) and David Boies, Al Gore's campaign attorney, often take center stage.

Supporting characters, including Prop. 8 proponent Bill Tam, American Foundation for Equal Rights board members Rob Reiner and Dustin Lance Black, David Blankenhorn of the Institute For American Values (a favorite of the Prop. 8 people who does a stunning 180), as well as openly gay, Republican appointed Judge Vaughn Walker, make for interesting viewing.

If there's one complaint – and you can be sure religious fanatics and right wing wackos will make this observation – The Case Against 8 is proudly and blatantly one-sided. You probably gleaned that from the title, but the superior attitude (earned and deserved!) grows tiresome and works against the cause.

The 10 year anniversary Blu-ray edition reissue of Mysterious Skin (Strand) opens with a new two minute intro by queer filmmaker Gregg Araki that neither adds nor detracts from the film. Mysterious Skin was the indie movie version of a perfect storm. The best film of Araki's directing career, it was his first time adapting a novel, Scott Heim's acclaimed first book of fiction, for the big screen. The film also contained Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie's haunting score. But the real coup, for a low-budget indie, was the amazing cast.

After playing a homophobic Mormon missionary in Latter Days, Joseph Gordon-Levitt took the lead in Mysterious Skin, playing Neil, a sexually abused boy who became a gay hustler. Levitt's co-stars include actor/director Brady Corbet, Elizabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg, Bill Sage and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Faithful to Heim's novel, Mysterious Skin spans a 10-year period, from 1981 to 1991, in which Brian (Corbet), a socially awkward asexual teen, attempts to explain a missing five-hour period from his eighth year. Convinced he was abducted by aliens, Brian's search leads him to Avalyn (Rajskub), a woman who also claims to have had a similar experience. But does she have ulterior motives?

Only slightly better adjusted, Neil, who discovers the effect he has on men at the hands of his pedophile little league coach (Sage), turns his sexual prowess into a money-making business in his hick-town. By 1983, young Neil (Chase Ellison) is exhibiting anti-social behavior, something observed by "soul-mate" Wendy (Riley McGuire), but overlooked by his distracted and irresponsible mother (Elizabeth Shue).

Years pass and the boys follow their life paths. Neil heads to New York after high school, crashing at the older Wendy's (Trachtenberg) apartment and hustling, before getting a job at a sub shop. Brian remains behind, living with his mother (Lisa Long) and befriending Eric (Jeff Licon), a high school classmate of Neil's who had a crush on the unattainable boy. But Brian's persistence pays off and he's soon able to connect the pieces of his lost hours, realizing that Neil was somehow involved. A fateful Christmas 1991 meeting of Neil and Brian, following Neil's brutal rape at the hands of a psychotic trick, is the first step towards the boys making peace with their past.

If you can handle the difficult subject matter, Mysterious Skin is strongly recommended. Gordon-Levitt's extraordinary performance was a turning point in his acting career. Blu-ray bonus features include deleted scenes, an interview with Gordon-Levitt and Corbet at Sundance 2014, an interview with author Heim and more.

Here are some of the ways you know that Stranger By The Lake (Strand) is a French film, not an American one: the subject matter (gay men cruising and having sex near a lake), the nudity (some of the men at the beach sunbathe naked), the depiction of gay sex (graphic, including erections and orgasms, and realistic to say the least), and men in Speedos (need more be said?).

Attractive and fit gay man Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps), makes small talk with dumpy straight man Henri (Patrick d'Assumçao) at the beach on a summer day. Franck used to sell vegetables at the market and is trying to figure out his next move, while the newly single Henri is a logger. Their conversation ends abruptly when Franck sees mustached Michel (Christophe Paou), a man in whom he's interested, and follows him into the wooded area, littered with condoms, condom wrappers and crumpled tissues, where an assortment of men have either paired off or are hoping to do so. But Franck's pursuit of Michel hits a road block when he suspects that Ramiere (François Labarthe) is Michel's boyfriend.

A pattern is soon established. Franck arrives daily at the lake's parking lot and takes his place on the beach next to Henri. Franck and Henri become better acquainted, with Henri's eyes being opened to the various nuances of gay culture and behavior. More often than not, Franck wanders into the woods to test his own wood making skills.

Things take an unexpected, decidedly dark turn when, late one afternoon after the beach emptied of sunbathers, Franck witnesses Michel drown Ramiere in the lake. The only remaining traces of the dead boyfriend? His little red Peugot left in the parking lot for days on end, as well as his towel, clothes and shoes on the beach.

But that doesn't prevent Franck from returning to the lake, day after day. When Michel approaches Franck, he is initially hesitant (he did witness Michel drown his boyfriend!) and then gives in and has sex with him. And the next day, too! Unsafe sex to boot! But what the heck, you're doing it with a murderer anyway.

Franck finds himself falling for Michel. He wants to spend the night with him, but Michel's not that kind of guy (he already offed one clingy beau). When Franck arrives the next day, the beach is deserted except for Henri and a helicopter overhead. Ramiere's body has been found in the water. By the next day, a few cars have returned to the lot and the beach is peppered with men, including Inspector Damroder (Jérôme Chappatte). The awkward Damroder begins his interrogation, questioning Franck, Michel, Henri and others.

As the men at the lake's pattern resumes, and Damorder's investigation continues, things grow tense between Franck and lone-wolf Michel. The tension reaches its peak when Henri hints to Michel that he knows he killed Ramiere. Stranger By The Lake then gets stranger, bordering on becoming a kind of serial killer flick, with a mounting body count. As terrifying as it is tantalizing, Stranger By The Lake is a unique and above average thriller. In French, with subtitles. DVD bonus material includes an interview with writer/director Alain Guiraudie. Stranger By The Lake is also on Vimeo On Demand at http://vimeo.com/ondemand/strangerbythelake