Film review 'Strip Jack Naked' By JEFF MENELLNEW YORK -- Ron Peck's ''Strip Jack Naked (Nighthawks II)'' lays bare the anguish of being a homosexual in England during the 1960s and '70s, as well as reinforcing the horror that AIDS has brought to today's society.
This 91-minute film, trimmed down from hours of outtakes from Peck's controversial 1978 film ''Nighthawks, '' plus additional raw footage, recently opened the 1991 New York International Festival of Lesbian and Gay Films. Now making its American theatrical premiere in a limited run at the Public Theater, ''Strip Jack Naked'' provides a rare, firsthand insight, as told in voiceover by the filmmaker, into the psyche of a young boy who first realizes he's gay, and what it means to then live in a world that ostracizes someone because of his or her sexual preference.
Dramatic in its telling, and bolstered by some haunting visuals and a strangely eerie score, ''Strip Jack Naked'' unfortunately loses its impact about half way through the film. Peck's message and reminiscences become repetitious, overly self-indulgent and, eventually, tedious.
Although well-received by the predominantly gay audience at the festival, it seems doubtful that this film would prove to be much of a revelation, or even all that interesting, to either homosexual or heterosexual viewers. Its subjectively biased nature and overly somber tone prevent this film from ever leaving the starting gate.
Even the several laughs that the film evokes are tainted by the self-pitying nature of the humor. Still, the film proves itself to be potent and moving, in parts. Its anecdotal style brings home the film's few important points in entertaining and sensitive fashion.
Peck recalls in detail how, as a youth, he became infatuated with a boy in the class above him, and how that infatuation soon turned to pain and fear when the older boy rejected him. The subsequent taunting phone calls left more than one emotional scar. He then admits to getting a girlfriend so he could be ''normal, '' but his homosexual desires kept rising to the surface.
This is just one of many similar stories told in this film. Peck's recollections, frustrations and triumphs are acted out on the screen by mostly non-professional actors. This does add a touch of realism, but occasionally the action and the acting border on the ridiculous.
The film incorporates several cinematic techniques, including some hand-held and backlit shadow shots, that are quite effective, but after a while these devices, as with the subject matter, become redundant and self-serving.
In ''Strip Jack Naked, '' Ron Peck succeeds in revealing his thoughts and innermost feelings through the use of film. Unfortunately, and as is usually the case, these personal emotions and experiences are far more interesting and cathartic to the teller than they are to the listener. What he has to say is important, but it could have been said in less time than it takes here.
STRIP JACK NAKED (NIGHTHAWKS II)
The British Film Institute
Director Ron Peck
Writers Ron Peck, Paul Hallam
Editors Ron Peck, Adrian James Carbutt
Music Adrian James Carbutt
Color
Starring: Ken Robertson, John Brown, Nick Bolton, Derek Jarman.
Running time -- 91 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Dramatic in its telling, and bolstered by some haunting visuals and a strangely eerie score, ''Strip Jack Naked'' unfortunately loses its impact about half way through the film. Peck's message and reminiscences become repetitious, overly self-indulgent and, eventually, tedious.
Although well-received by the predominantly gay audience at the festival, it seems doubtful that this film would prove to be much of a revelation, or even all that interesting, to either homosexual or heterosexual viewers. Its subjectively biased nature and overly somber tone prevent this film from ever leaving the starting gate.
Even the several laughs that the film evokes are tainted by the self-pitying nature of the humor. Still, the film proves itself to be potent and moving, in parts. Its anecdotal style brings home the film's few important points in entertaining and sensitive fashion.
Peck recalls in detail how, as a youth, he became infatuated with a boy in the class above him, and how that infatuation soon turned to pain and fear when the older boy rejected him. The subsequent taunting phone calls left more than one emotional scar. He then admits to getting a girlfriend so he could be ''normal, '' but his homosexual desires kept rising to the surface.
This is just one of many similar stories told in this film. Peck's recollections, frustrations and triumphs are acted out on the screen by mostly non-professional actors. This does add a touch of realism, but occasionally the action and the acting border on the ridiculous.
The film incorporates several cinematic techniques, including some hand-held and backlit shadow shots, that are quite effective, but after a while these devices, as with the subject matter, become redundant and self-serving.
In ''Strip Jack Naked, '' Ron Peck succeeds in revealing his thoughts and innermost feelings through the use of film. Unfortunately, and as is usually the case, these personal emotions and experiences are far more interesting and cathartic to the teller than they are to the listener. What he has to say is important, but it could have been said in less time than it takes here.
STRIP JACK NAKED (NIGHTHAWKS II)
The British Film Institute
Director Ron Peck
Writers Ron Peck, Paul Hallam
Editors Ron Peck, Adrian James Carbutt
Music Adrian James Carbutt
Color
Starring: Ken Robertson, John Brown, Nick Bolton, Derek Jarman.
Running time -- 91 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 6/11/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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