Three acts, three relationships explored, and a plethora of emotion surrounding each.
Writer and director Mark Schwab gives depth and dimension to the lives of gay men in a way that’s not always reflected in cinema. Not the camp sidekick or the gay best friend, the lives of Schwab’s characters take a front and central position in his narrative in a way that felt refreshing for me, even in 2024.
The first act follows an arrogant man named Wyatt (Christian Gabriel) who discovers his best friend Logan (Matthew Bridges) is falling in love with his ex. This stirs all sorts of emotions for Wyatt who is unable to engage in Logan’s gushing over the last date. We find a little more about their history as Wyatt goes and confronts Shane (Jacob Betts) about his involvement with Logan. He obnoxiously struts around Shane’s apartment and you can’t help but wonder at his motives for visiting. Christian Gabriel as Wyatt is a force to be reckoned with. He’s vibrant and alluring, drawing you in to the narrative as you long to learn more about the history between the pair. In this opening act, the emotional engagement was effective, but the story behind Wyatt and Shane was perhaps less so. This left the excellent performances of Gabriel, Betts and Bridges somewhat unsupported by the narrative and consequently the story felt a little clunky in contrast. Perhaps spending a little longer in the exposition or using some flashbacks/ non-linear narrative techniques could have helped here. The latter acts of Exteriors are not afraid of using an exciting twist or taking us in an unexpected direction. I think this storyline could have benefited from some of this. We find out Logan’s perfect man is Wyatt’s ex almost immediately, whereas keeping this in suspense could have been an interesting avenue to explore.
Moving on to the second act, Schwab gives us something more substantial to hold on to. Jason (Julian Goza)is working cleaning a pool at a fancy house when he realises the guy at the house is an old flame. Jason fell in love with the guy many years ago, but they couldn’t pursue anything because the guy had a boyfriend, now husband. While things don’t unfold exactly how Jason imagined, the two learn a considerable amount from each other. Goza plays and extremely endearing character and works well with Fernando Jose as Kenny.
In the final act, things take a more sinister turn. But this act is also the gift that keeps on giving in terms of twists and turns. Schwab has shown he can do sensitive and emotional, but Dr Lesh (Peter Stickles) gives us an introduction to obsession, jealousy and betrayal. Lesh is therapist to a man named Lex (Pano Tsaklas) who has been in the media quite extensively. Lex is hoping to get to a place where he feels comfortable dating again, and Dr Lesh is supposed to help him. But what quickly becomes apparent is the therapist’s unhealthy obsession with his patient. Taping sessions where Lex talks about intimate issues for private enjoyment, stalking him, imagining sexual scenarios – the code of conduct has been smashed to pieces. For Dr Lesh, his obsession ramps up when Lex tells him he’s found a guy he’s interested in dating. Lesh cannot contain the jealousy and it leads him to a surprising discovery. Peter Stickles as Dr Lesh captures the subtleties of a man in a position of utmost professionalism slowly starting to lose his judgement to the green eyed monster of jealously.
Together, the three acts make for a compelling, cohesive film. The music of the film by Steven Murr is especially great combined with his cinematography. Mark Schwab writes stories with sensitivity and creative flair, drawing together all the characters under his confident direction.
Watch the trailer below.