The Event (2003)

"The Event" is mystery story set in Manhattan's Chelsea district, an intense relationship drama about a series of unexplained deaths that occurs among the gay community. It tells the story of Matt Shapiro (Don McKellar) who has died in Manhattan, resulting in an aborted 911 call. Assistant District Attorney Nicole "Nick" DeVivo (Parker Posey) investigates the suspicious suicide, and interviews Matt's friends and family to piece together a portrait of Matt's life and finally his death. Matt's death is the latest in what could be a string of "assisted" suicides, and Nick's suspicions lead her to Matt's best friend, Brian (Brent Carver), who runs an AIDS hospice. Through her conversations with Brian, some of Matt's other friends, the man's mother (Olympia Dukakis), and younger sister Dana (Sarah Polley), Nick is able to piece together Matt's life after he was stricken with the illness. It is the man's older sister, the ostracized Gaby (Joanna P. Adler), who hints to Nick that her brother may have had some help. Flashbacks reconstruct the man's life and his relationships with friends and family. Nick believes that his death may have been the result of assisted suicide, which is against the law, even for victims of AIDS. When the true circumstances of his death are revealed, they prove to be far less important than how he lived, loved, and was loved.

The title of the film refers to the night when Matt died. His friends and family gather at his apartment to hold a farewell party, and at the end of the evening's festivities, with loved ones by his side, Matt's life will presumably reach a peaceful end. This melodrama begins as a powerful film with good character development, but becomes overly sentimental, obviously trying to manipulate our emotions. Christophe Beck composed the incidental music, and Thom Fitzgerald wrote the screenplay and directed.

Cowboys & Angels (2003)

Another coming of age comedy, "Cowboys & Angels" is about 2 Irish young men, straight Shane Butler (Michael Legge) and his gay roommate Vincent Cusak (Allen Leech). Set in Limerick city, Shane is handsome but geeky, works for the Department of Agriculture, and wants to enroll in art school. Vincent is a confident fashion-student and decorator. Despite being opposites in most ways, they soon become close friends. Vincent's artistry inspires Shane to greatness. When he meets and falls in love with Gemma (Amy Shiels), an ex-art student and best friend of Vincent's who now works in a fast food joint, he feels compelled to make some radical changes in his life. Fate steps in to lend a hand in the form of Keith (David Murray), a drug dealer who lives downstairs. Keith offers Shane the opportunity to make a lot of money by going on a drug run to Dublin. At first Shane refuses, but he desperately needs the cash. He goes on the drug run and lives to regret it. With the money he makes from the run, Vincent transforms him into one of the hippest guys in town. Unknown to Shane though, some shady figures have tailed him back from Dublin and are now watching the apartment.

The two leads have great chemistry and deliver career-making performances as they become best friends. This film is an energetic, captivating, and funny exploration of their difficulties in a fast moving sub-culture of drugs and clubs. Nothing new, but Legge and Leech make the film worth watching. Stephen McKeon composed the incidental music, and David Gleeson wrote the screenplay and directed.