Santa Claus: The Serial Killer is streaming now on BBC iPlayer. Give or Take, Beyto, and I Am Syd Stone are available to rent or buy on all major platforms.
Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur
Mobeen Azhar’s documentary follows in the footsteps of CBC’s Murder in the Village (2017) and Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur (2021); as a result, it struggles to offer anything new to the evidence base surrounding McArthur’s crimes. Azhar explores the lacklustre Police response to the disappearances while also asking us to reflect on the racial dimension of McArthur’s crimes. But at its heart, Azhar’s documentary explores the cultural barriers of a closed gay community and the fact that any community holds secrets and vulnerabilities that residents would rather not face.
There are clear parallels between the Stephen Port case here in the UK and the Bruce McArthur case in Toronto. While Azhar’s investigation is interesting and informative, it never quite manages to tease out these similarities, resulting in a missed opportunity to explore Police failures and hidden community concerns. The result is a documentary that occasionally feels overly simplistic in its investigative framework.
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Give or Take
Martin (Jamie Effros) has just returned to his hometown in Cape Cod following the death of his estranged father. It is immediately apparent that the father and son drifted apart following the death of Martin’s mother, an event that led Martin’s father to finally come out as gay and move in with his life partner, Ted (Norbert Leo Butz). However, as the tensions rise between Ted and Martin due to the sale of the house, an unexpected opportunity for healing comes into view. Give or Take is beautifully performed and engaging throughout, with some standout moments of emotion and humour as the ice between Ted and Martin slowly thaws. However, the conflict between Martin and Ted also feels underexplored. Here, Give or Take skirts the broader issues of homophobia, acceptance, and coming out in later life, which could have elevated it to brilliance.
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Beyto
Based on the novel Hochzeitsflug by Yusuf Yesilöz, you would be forgiven for thinking Gitta Gsell’s Beyto is a classic coming-of-age gay drama from its opening twenty minutes. However, Gsell’s drama soon takes an interesting turn as we explore immigration, cultural homophobia, and arranged marriage. Here, the experiences of young Beyto are shared with those of his childhood friend and bride, Seher. The result is a film rooted in the expectations, oppression, and cultural baggage that surround young men and women as they attempt to build new lives away from their home country. While it may not always find its voice in exploring intersections and cultural heritage, Beyto is a fascinating mix of themes and discussions that help it transcend the average coming-of-age gay movie.
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I Am Syd Stone
Denis Theriault’s 2014 short film was expanded into a six-part web series called I Am Syd Stone in 2020, and it has now been compiled into a feature-length movie. However, like many web series converted into feature-length films, I Am Syd Stone struggles to maintain its pace and loses the audience’s interest early on in the narrative. Of course, that’s not to say there are not some fascinating themes wrapped up in Theriault’s story of a closeted Hollywood star searching for inner peace and public acceptance. But unfortunately, I Am Syd Stone never rises above the soap-opera-inspired melodrama at its core. The resulting film offers few deep or meaningful performances and lacks an urgently needed backstory. Some may find just enough interest to see the movie through to the end, but others will tune out after the first 35 minutes.
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