It has been said that a substantial part of a filmmaker's work is achieved with the right actors. If so, writer-direction Rudy Luna has considerably lightened his load in this perfectly cast film. In PrimeMates (2010) four friends relax in a cigar lounge.
The topic of discussion seems inevitably to turn to that of sex and desire. Ray (Leo Rossi) argues that infidelity is simply an "evolutionary" phenomenon, one that has actually strengthened his marriage. Devoted to his wife, Clint (Ethan Phillips) challenges Ray's carefully constructed, intellectual argument. Joe (Joe Estevez) seems less remorseful about his divorce than entranced by the passionate affair which brought it about. And Jim (Will Wallace), the self-aggrandizing womanizer (the "slut") of the group, serves as foil to what seems the relatively diffident, Prufrock-like, Clint.
The machismo and jousting, locker-room camaraderie suggest a certain shallowness and superficiality in the male menagerie. But as Oscar Wilde reminded us, "the truth is seldom plain and never simple." When Ray promises to reveal a secret if the others will respond in kind the story becomes at once both more disturbing and more meaningful. A conversational movie, even one punctuated with the occasional flashback, is a risky venture. On the other hand, when that risk pays off it can become that most valuable of films--raw and redemptive, yet believable and riveting. The casual tone progressively grows darker and more unsparing as these middle-aged men relate their own stark, once-told tales.
In PrimeMates Rudy Luna's first film manages to uncover the archetype beneath the stereotype. All good stories are about trial and transformation, and the one here is no exception. The unexpected narrative turn ambushes both audience and characters in a poignant, haunting depiction of the depth and integrity of authentic relationship.
Bob
