The Gigolos (2006) Reviews

• a film with the same edge as The Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm

  archiemclaren424-12006-07-28

  The Gigolos had its first UK screening at the excellent Cambridge Film Festival last week. It's an amazing debut feature film from writer/director Richard Bracewell and writer/actors Sacha and Trevor. First, I was expecting it to be about the glamorous life of a male escort in the West End. Instead, it is a film about the search for love in a world of aching loneliness. Every character - the clients and the gigolos themselves - are disappointed and lonely, but it's temporarily forgotten for one magical evening. This was brilliantly done by Bracewell - you don't know whether to laugh, cry or cringe. It's got the same edge as The Office or Curb Your Enthusiasm - these guys have taken the "comedy of embarrassment" and applied it to film with great success. Fantastic also to see Susannah York on the big screen again - for a fan of Tom Jones, The Killing of Sister George and Superman her cameo as a bored West End fashion agent who finds the "London men are boring" is a real treat.

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• An insightful look into how the others can live in the big smoke

  jordangriffiths2007-04-07

  I found the Gigolos to be light hearted, as well as having a subtle undertone of dark humour throughout. As someone who hasn't seen anything apart from big American blockbusters recently, I found it was an interesting film about a world and lifestyle I previously knew little about. It managed to keep my attention for the duration which is no mean feat. Artistically, I liked the way the film was shot, and for some brief moments I forgot that the two lead characters were in fact actors. The lack of harsh lighting helps to keep the venues and circumstances fairly moody and atmospheric. The music,clothing and styling had retro influences which I like. The film gave off an air of "cool" without trying to - nicely done!

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• A brilliant debut feature

  rosshquirk2006-03-21

  I've just watched The Gigolos at the Durango Film Festival. It was completely delightful. Sly, sad, and comic by turns. Newcomers Trevor and Sacha were excellent. I especially loved the development of Trevor's character: the 'office manager', his date with Lady James, the pick-up, the poaching, the life modelling, the reconciliation with Sacha, and the grocer girl. There is a gentle, atmospheric, bemused tone to the direction and camera-work; very unusual, highly original. A floating, timeless atmosphere. There's no sense of a measured passage of time; intervals could be hours or months. And similarly there is a curious placelessness: it's London, but there are almost no references to neighborhoods or landmarks. The hand-held camera work - the cinema verite tone - produces a documentary's sense of immediacy and viewer presence; but this was combined with the timelessness and placelessness to produce an enjoyable disorientation, a euphoria. The pace is deliberately slow. So many scenes are street shots and interior shots of the two gigolos just living: walking, waiting, bathing, sleeping. This works really well. The plot is an occasional pattern within real lives. I'd love to know if there really is a Gigolos Club in London's Mayfair! I don't know if The Gigolos is yet on general release, but if you like original films then this is a must-see. I still can't believe this was the first feature for the director and for Trevor and Sacha.

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• great British independent film

  max-9592009-01-27

  A great example of modern independent British cinema. very subtle and intelligent humour. original quirky and quintessentially British. at the same time its quite dark and intriguing. great to see cameos by actresses like anna massey, who's doing her classic not-quite-sure-of-where-she-is act. the setting of London really adds to the film, particularly if you're a Londoner you can play the "ooh i've been there!" game. contains some elements of lost in translation in it's subtlety, and some nick hornby-esquire observations on men, women and how they interact. i think there's some clips on you tube if you want to get a flavour. it's new, fresh and you might like it as much as i did.

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• Unusual, engrossing, brilliant

  Jules-Thompson2009-01-28

  The Gigolos was recommended to me by a friend who caught it at the Cambridge Film Festival. He told me that he hadn't been sure about it at the time but that it had stuck around in his head for at least a week. It's not hard to see what he means: the subtlety of the story and the camera-work is beguiling, but it is only afterwards that the brilliant set-pieces and innocent conversations return to you with their full force. Filmed in a mockumentary style, and with very low key acting on the part of the two male leads, The Gigolos carefully draws you into it's smooth, suave, subtle atmosphere like a 3am conversation in a private inner-city bar. This is balanced by the cameos of the more famous actresses, who steal each scene they're in, before you're returned to the murky, dark relationship between Trevor and Sacha. There are moments of good comedy, but the real draw of The Gigolos is the way it draws you into their world. Much like the vintage Mercedes that should earn its own credit in the film, it is measured, balanced and deliberate, aware of its class and its potential but designed not to show off. It takes you on your journey, with a grace that makes you forget that you're travelling.

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