William Boyals, a successful, black, gay attorney in New York, is drawn back to the small, rural Louisiana town he long ago escaped from to investigate the lynching of a black gay childhood ... Read allWilliam Boyals, a successful, black, gay attorney in New York, is drawn back to the small, rural Louisiana town he long ago escaped from to investigate the lynching of a black gay childhood friend.William Boyals, a successful, black, gay attorney in New York, is drawn back to the small, rural Louisiana town he long ago escaped from to investigate the lynching of a black gay childhood friend.
Cornell S. Thomas
- Henchman #1
- (as Cornell Thomas)
Aaron Kleven
- Cedric
- (as Aaron Klevin)
Wilbert Lewis
- Preacher
- (as Reverend Wilbert Lewis)
Nancy B. Shepard
- Funeral Mourner
- (as Nancy B. Shepard Ph.D.)
Celestial
- Martha Boyals
- (as Cecile M. Johnson)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was filmed in late 2004, after Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and some television pundits had referred to him as "a very articulate black man." That phrase appears on a billboard as the first scene in Louisiana.
- Crazy creditsChico was not harmed in the making of this film.
- ConnectionsReferences In the Heat of the Night (1967)
- SoundtracksKama Sutra Lover
Performed by Tami, Nadia and Nicole
Lyrics written by Tammy Reese (BMI), Nadia Elmalk (ASCAP) and Nicole Raymond (ASCAP)
Music by Benjamin Chan (BMI)
Produced by zeng @ New Music Unlimited
Published by Squeaky Kirin Music Publishing (BMI) and Squeaky Pagoda Music Publishing (ASCAP)
Featured review
A Film with So Many Subplots That the Strange Fruit is Just One in Bowl
The opening credits for the writer/director Kyle Schickner (Full Frontal, Rose by any other Name) film STRANGE FRUIT are eloquently beautiful camera passages down a Louisiana bayou at night, the end point being an isolated little club (the Gator) reached only by a floating raft. The mood is set for an atmospheric Southern Gothic drama: what follows is an overly complicated exploration of racism, homophobia, family dysfunction, police corruption, prejudice (racial and gender), and most important gay homophobia! Too many irons in the fire make a film that has a lot of potential come to a confusing end: too many of the subplots and motivations remain unexplained.
There is a lynching of a black gay man in the parking lot of The Gator (a gay bar where people of like minds can hide at night as long as they stay in the closet outside the bar). The mother Emma Ayers (a radiant Berlinda Tolbert) and her ne're-do-well remaining son Duane (David Raibon) are convinced the incident was a murder but the sheriff (Sam Jones) and his redneck deputies (with the exception of Deputy Conover - Jared Day) dismiss the lynching as justified because it was 'sexually motivated' and gay men deserve such an end. Emma calls the victim's childhood friend William Boyals (the fine Kent Faulcon), a successful lawyer now in New York, to come and investigate. What William discovers upon his return to his hometown is a cast of characters that includes hateful white trash, closeted black gays afraid to defend each other, 'law enforcement' that is anything but honest, the strength and devotion of his 'aunt Emma', and the mother that disowned him when he came out of the closet to be a successful gay man. The story proceeds to follow leads about the lynching and along the way there are other murders and lynchings that muddle the picture until the finale when the words of the Gator owner explain the happenings: 'Nothing is ever like it appears to be'.
The film is moody, atmospheric, and there are some fine performances by Faulcon, Tolbert, Raibon, Jared Day and Jones. The problems include a script that opts for generalities and clichés and once again a music score and recording system that buries a lot of the dialogue. But it is refreshing to see a story that views the black gay life in the South from the vantage of a handsome, successful, gay black man. Though overly long at 115 minutes, STRANGE FRUIT is still a film of interest for the chances it takes.
There is a lynching of a black gay man in the parking lot of The Gator (a gay bar where people of like minds can hide at night as long as they stay in the closet outside the bar). The mother Emma Ayers (a radiant Berlinda Tolbert) and her ne're-do-well remaining son Duane (David Raibon) are convinced the incident was a murder but the sheriff (Sam Jones) and his redneck deputies (with the exception of Deputy Conover - Jared Day) dismiss the lynching as justified because it was 'sexually motivated' and gay men deserve such an end. Emma calls the victim's childhood friend William Boyals (the fine Kent Faulcon), a successful lawyer now in New York, to come and investigate. What William discovers upon his return to his hometown is a cast of characters that includes hateful white trash, closeted black gays afraid to defend each other, 'law enforcement' that is anything but honest, the strength and devotion of his 'aunt Emma', and the mother that disowned him when he came out of the closet to be a successful gay man. The story proceeds to follow leads about the lynching and along the way there are other murders and lynchings that muddle the picture until the finale when the words of the Gator owner explain the happenings: 'Nothing is ever like it appears to be'.
The film is moody, atmospheric, and there are some fine performances by Faulcon, Tolbert, Raibon, Jared Day and Jones. The problems include a script that opts for generalities and clichés and once again a music score and recording system that buries a lot of the dialogue. But it is refreshing to see a story that views the black gay life in the South from the vantage of a handsome, successful, gay black man. Though overly long at 115 minutes, STRANGE FRUIT is still a film of interest for the chances it takes.
helpful•52
- gradyharp
- Sep 22, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, 8th Street & Arthur Avenue, Lake Arthur, Louisiana, USA(Funeral Scene for Kelvin Ayers)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
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