I can’t help but be slightly bemused at a film which opens with a Borges quote and a brilliant scene—and yet fails on account of both.

A close-up on a precocious young Elliot (played phenomenally by Quentin Araujo) opens the film, an adult male’s button-up shirt flung onto his head as he mimics his own shampoo commercial, complete with references to his luscious locks.

“Do you like my long, luxurious hair?” he poses. “You probably think I was born with this hair. Well think again: I was not. It’s my shampoo.”

Every gay boy, deep down, has admitted such performances in the bathroom mirror; not necessarily shampoo commercials or product placements per se, but most certainly an Oscar speech here and there.

Young Elliot (Quentin Araujo) shows off his luxurious hair.

However, Elliot Loves, written and directed by the mononymous Terracino, fails to explore the depths of such vibrant scenes—including the equally vibrant New York Heights neighborhood it takes place in—instead clouding them with the stereotypes of the gay community that are much less enjoyable to view. Following the rather fantastic shampoo scene, we are cut to a dingy gay club, paired with equally dingy dialogue between grown Elliot (in a strangely exaggerative and excessive performance by Fabio Costaprado) and a man cruising him. The banter is almost painful to watch:

“I was wondering when you were gonna notice me—I’ve been staring at you all night… I was getting a little afraid for a second ’cause, if you don’t know my name, what are you gonna whisper in my ear when I take you home with me tonight?”

This strangely porn-like scene is followed with, much like the Borges quote, another scene of brilliance. After his invitation to his cruiser’s home—following a disturbingly unhealthy scene where Elliot begins to describe his two-day bed romps as relationships—he wakes up and another man enters the room, gently leaning over Elliot to kiss the cruiser. “C’mon and meet my boyfriend,” quips the cruiser nonchalantly. This situation can oftentimes be devastating for gay men, who felt lured or simply manipulated due to the complicated order that is an open relationship.

And yet again, the film fails to explore this, simply having Elliot slip out the door quietly and moving onto a go-go dancer and moving onto a… All paired with random excerpts from his single-mother-home past and violent bouts with said mother’s—a rather touching performance by Elena Goode—boyfriends.

It is this strange trajectory from scenes of depth—sometimes in beautiful, albeit out-of-place animation—to scenes that fail to capture the idiosyncrasies of insecurities and the complexity of Latino gay culture on the East Coast.

In essence, the ideas are there: many gay men struggle with their compulsivity to jump into love, to want someone continually at their side, at dealing with open relationships, at having to face a violent past… They’re there but they’re simply not explored and the two parallel stories—the one of 9-year-old Elliot and that of his 21-year-old self—become incommensurable.

When a film tries to put a human face on the psychopathology of people addicted to the idea of love, it cannot simply waltz through some of the most important aspects it presents—or else, as is the case with Elliot, we do not understand his compulsivity and desire for love, but rather feel sorry for him. Frustratingly, the film ultimately fails to address how people become so sadly attached at the instance of a glance and in fact, just as sadly reinforces the current ideology that all behaviors can be excused by a troubled past.

***

The 2012 QFilms Festival will occur September 14, 15, and 16. Elliot Loves will be shown on Saturday, September 15 at 9:30pm at the Art Theatre, located at 2025 E. 4th Street.

For the complete lineup of the films playing at this year’s QFilms, click here.

For more information about the festival, visit www.qfilmslongbeach.com. Passes and tickets are available through the link provided. Submissions for this year’s festival are closed but 2013 submissions will be accepted beginning October 15 via www.withoutabox.com.