The story-line of a "slice of life as seen from the eyes of a gay prostitute" has been around for quite awhile now; My Own Private Idaho being perhaps the gold standard. So, if someone is going to make yet another film on this theme, there should be an ORIGINAL or at least INTERESTING reason for it. This film was simply boring. The lead was not "hot" enough to be taken seriously as a gay prostitute (not even bargain basement),nor was he in any way sympathetic. The undercurrent of falling for a straight friend has also been done...as in the aforementioned My Own Private Idaho...so no, not original. The sex scenes left me wondering if the actor has ever actually had sex at all in his life...because that doesn't really look like how it's done (then again, he is English...so maybe that's how THEY do it...which kind of explains things). Just horrible overall.
The Cost of Love
2011
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance
The Cost of Love
2011
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance
Plot summary
Dale is a male escort based in Greenwich, London. Sexy, confident, full of attitude and imagination, he is the king of his domain. Some loathe him because they secretly want to be him; others secretly hire him. On the surface Dale seems to lead a very together existence, but one major component is missing. Love. He is secretly in love with his best friend Raj, a handsome compassionate doctor who announces that he is getting married. Dale, shocked and despaired, turns to his friend Sean for answers, not knowing that Sean has strong feeling for him. Sean is a rebellious drag artist. Underneath the glitz and fabulous makeup, Sean is on a journey for self-discovery and acceptance. They are all connected by their friendship and their feelings varying from love to lust, but at what cost?
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
Pretty awful
Bad But Not As Bad As All That
I recall Harvey Fierstein once saying that any exposure was good exposure. He was trying to say that we should allow for all voices to tell our stories, and this was definitely a voice I had never heard before. Folks, there is no Oscar or Academy Award here, and yeah, I've seen better actors, better story lines, better direction, this, that and the other thing. But I watched the movie, it held my attention. From this side of the pond I got to see locales I had never seen before. I think the characters were basically believable however I agree with the comment above that he main character as a hustler was a stretch, he wouldn't make a dime over here (not that I hire hustlers),but who knows with the Brits? The point is indie cinema is just that indie cinema. I watched the movie all the way through, had a bit of a problem with the ending, so I watched the ending again and I think I understood what I was supposed to understand. And yeah, I agree there wasn't a lot of affection, but since I'm made to swallow the gay relationship depicted on the TV show Modern Family (two gay men with a child and they never touch, never hold hands and certainly never kiss),I guess I can live with a movie that the characters basically do the same. Watch it, rent it, judge for yourself. Remember any exposure is good exposure however lame it may really be.
Depressing, dreary and unfocused
Dale (Christopher Kelham) is a 28 year old hustler in London. He spends his days with his high-paying clients and nights cruising for sex or hanging with his drag queen best friend Sean (the late Michael Joyce). He's also secretly in love with his str8 friend Raj (Valmike Rampersed). Things start to unravel when Raj tells Dale he's getting married...to a woman.
On the positive side--the acting is pretty good with Joyce excellent as Sean. There are some nice shirtless scenes of Israel Cassol who plays another hustler named Ricardo. Also the ending is somewhat affecting. Other than those points though this is pretty terrible. It's slow-moving with a story that veers all over the place. There was also a howler of a melodramatic twist thrown in at the one hour mark that was so stupid I thought they were kidding! The "insights" to love and sex were thoroughly predictable and frankly boring. The main problem is Kelham. Dale is such an obnoxious character that I couldn't believe he had any clients let alone friends. His acting is very good but I didn't believe for one second that he was a gay hustler. He seems uncomfortable with the role. The ONE gay kiss we see is very horribly done because it's so obvious that the actors don't want to do it. Also (I realize this is a matter of taste) Kelham isn't good-looking enough or in good enough shape (he's average at best) to be a hustler. Cassol would have been a better choice for the role. There's no nudity and the simulated sex is so overdone it's embarrassing. Bad direction too. The good acting by Joyce can't save this. Bland and boring.