“Is this what you want?” Aaron (Kieron Moore) asks his offscreen John.
It’s hard to imagine any man not wanting Aaron as he appears in that moment. The young, athletic, camboy with hairy pecs presents a carnal buffet of masculine delights. He knows it, too. Aaron spreads his legs and caresses his nipples, showing all too well how to, er, titillate a client.
As his VIP client, who pays $50,000 for the evening, observes the sex worker relish the prime of youthful sexuality, Blue Film swelteringly communicates the pleasure of being watched. This provocative first feature from filmmaker Elliot Tuttle gives a cinephile exactly what he wants. It’s an edgy picture that pushes the envelope with a bold consideration of how great it is to feel desired.
Blue Film centres the act of looking with its daringly simplified shot/reverse shot aesthetic. The film features a two-hander between Aaron and his masked admirer, Hank (Reed Birney, Mass). It’s a talky picture, birthed from the canon of sex, lies, and videotape with Hank literally recording Aaron’s cam confessionals for kicks. Moreover, it reflects the meditated intimacy in an era where cams, apps, and Only Fans are the new release.
Blue Film draws from the reality and aesthetic alike of a culture reared on looking. Sex sells in the ages of the webcam and the livefeed. As Aaron displays his hairy pits for a livestream of admirers, and orders to the subservient “faggots” who tip his feed, Blue Film suggests that Aaron has a kink of his own. His script is putrid. But in its own erotic manner. His beefed-up and ultra-masculine persona empowers him over the men on the side of the screen. His act is gross and sexy with equal measure.
Hank, however, doesn’t get off with Aaron’s frequent use of the term “faggot” as he tells stories and teases hot spots on his body. But even though Hank pays Aaron, the camboy’s magnetism lets him hold the power in this transaction. Moreover, Aaron quickly computes that something’s off with this old man who observes from behind a ski mask. A quick unmasking later and Aaron finds himself face to face with his former English teacher. It turns out that Hank had a crush on him since their school days and has dreamed of him daily since then. He pays every penny to experience the love of his life.
Moreover, this revelation adds a dynamic to the role play. Aaron doesn’t mind, though, as he peddles in sicko fantasies for money. But Hank’s sordid history has a peculiar tinge: he went to jail after making advances on another student. Even though Aaron appears before him as a mature and fully realized man, Hank longs for the schoolboy he coveted in the hallways. He even requests to shave Aaron. He razes the hair from his chest, legs, and buttocks, transforming the Adonis to a prepubescent likeness.
As the big-titted camboy and the aged pederast exchange stories, Blue Film provocatively explores the fine line between kink and perversion. Moreover, Tuttle presents an unconventional encounter without judgment and asks how sex work allows people to navigate their impulses through healthy outlets. One’s unease with the dynamic becomes part of the sense of release to which both men strive with the climax. The actors trade soulful monologues about formative sexual experiences, exchanges that root their sexuality in trauma, but also, for Aaron especially, the act of looking and the joy of man’s desiring.
Birney bravely unlocks Hank’s quest for healing that comes with the transaction. Without falling into the role of the dirty old man with a character who mostly relegates himself to watching and giving instructions, Birney conveys the therapeutic nature of the exchange as Hank finds closure by feeding a temptation that’s long tormented him.
Blue Film builds a titillating game of showing versus telling as Tuttle favours the art of the camboy confessional. Moore, who made a strong impression in Netflix’s short-lived series Boots, gamely meets the challenge. He commands the frame as Aaron bares himself literally and figuratively. Moore locks eyes with the camera lens to ensure our rapt attention. It’s an electrifying performance with great command and vulnerability. The camera rarely dips below the hips and instead locks into Moore’s piercing eyes as he bares himself for Hank’s pleasure. The film understands how emotional nakedness can be far more erotic. Whatever gets you off.
