Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Roy Cohn/Jack Smith (1993)

Director: Jill Godmilow

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Roy Cohn was Senator Joe McCarthy's right-hand attorney and a vociferous opponent of the loosening of gay rights; Jack Smith a wild performer and film-maker whose celebration of transvestite perversity, Flaming Creatures, became a notorious underground film of the '60s. Both men died of AIDS within a year or so of each other. As 'presented' by Jonathan Demme and filmed in New York, Vawter's one-man show places these two apparently dissimilar individuals side by side, focusing on the element of performance that seems to have enabled each to have survived in his particular stratum of society. Vawter is extraordinary in the way he switches roles: zeroing in on a toweringly homophobic speech Cohn gave to the American Society for the Preservation of the Family in 1978, then adorning himself in glitter for a distilled re-creation of one of Smith's languorous, fragmented monologues. Some jarring cross-cutting aside, the film's an absorbing, intelligent take on the compromises of gay identity and the masks people hide behind. It's also a testament to Vawter, who himself died of AIDS, shortly after this performance was recorded.

Author: TJ 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

London Children's Film Festival

London Children's Film Festival

Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations