Movie Type: Psychological Drama, Gay & Lesbian Films
Themes: Haunted By the Past, Dangerous Attraction, Playing the Field
Main Cast: Dan Futterman, Alan Cumming, Matt Keeslar, Josh Hamilton, Lothaire Bluteau
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
One of the most talked-about movies of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, this film, directed by Jon Shear, recalls the edgy, aggressively-political qualities of early '90s queer cinema such as Poison (1991) and Swoon (1991) -- and throws in a few nods to Martin Scorsese's late-night New York City odyssey film After Hours (1985) for good luck. Dashing young yuppie Charlie (Dan Futterman) is losing control of his life after the loss of his longtime companion Chris (Matt Keeslar). Alone in his apartment, he can hear his upstairs neighbors (Bill Sage and Megan Dodds) engage in noisy lovemaking that leaves him lonely, frustrated, and aroused. He wanders the neon-drenched streets of Manhattan at night as if he were a wraith. Later, at a bar with the amorous couple, the trio get into a loud, ugly argument about public displays of affection. Around this same time, Charlie notices a mysterious, tattooed stranger, and the two exchange looks. Intrigued, Charlie sets out looking for the man, and in the process, he launches himself on a nightmarish journey through the underside of New York. He happens upon an increasingly odd array of people, each telling progressively more bizarre tales that are purportedly true. German actress Barbara Sukowa appears in a cameo in which she tells Charlie of a sexual tryst she had in a bar's restroom. Alan Cumming appears as a friend who has a crush on Charlie, while Lothaire Bluteau plays a stammering bum. Soon reality and fiction, straight and gay all fuse and blur in Charlie's increasingly troubled psyche. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review
Non-linear surrealism and narrative filmmaking can sometimes be a deadly combination, but not in this arresting, visually assured debut from Jon Shear. A hypnotic trip through one man's discovery of the bizarre rhythms of New York City, where boundaries of reality and myth blend into each other, Urbania is very close in style and composition to Atom Egoyan's stunning 1995 film Exotica but with a mystique all its own. The film gives true meaning to the phrase "independent cinema," as it feels like almost nothing before it. Dan Futterman excels in a difficult lead role, as he must take his character through a potentially self-destructive odyssey while retaining the audience's sympathy; he's backed by a gifted cast that makes the most of their minimal screen time. Urbania loses some momentum as it grows nearer its foreshadowed conclusion, but the execution remains original and inventive. Winner of Best Film honors from several U.S. gay and lesbian film festivals, and an official selection for the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, Urbania bears the distinction of being only the second film after Star Wars: Episode I to make use of that film's revolutionary all-digital post-production techniques. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Urbania follows Charlie (Dan Futterman) through a sleepless night. After an unsuccessful bout of masturbation to the sound of his upstairs neighbors having sex, he prowls the streets looking for a man he saw several months earlier. The implication is that he's had a one night stand with the man, cheating on his boyfriend Chris (Matt Keeslar). This is reinforced by several phone calls Charlie places, leaving messages on Chris' answering machine. As he's walking, he has momentary flashes akin to hallucinations or waking dreams: a man's mouth; a bottle breaking; a man with a blood-stained shirt.
After a series of encounters (with his upstairs neighbors, who he tells about his masturbatory activities, and a potential trick), he meets the man he's looking for. His name is Dean (Ball) and it makes no sense either that he'd trick with Charlie or that Charlie would trick with him. Dean is unabashedly racist, sexist and homophobic. Nevertheless, Charlie, pretending to be straight, buys Dean drinks and smokes a joint with him. Dean takes Charlie to a gay cruising area looking for victims, but Charlie is able to warn away the intended target. Dean is now almost incapacitated by alcohol and drugs and Charlie gets him into Dean's car and drives him to a secluded marshy area.
As had been implied by Charlie's flashbacks, Dean and two of his buddies, several months earlier, had attacked Charlie and raped and murdered Chris. Charlie's purpose is finally revealed: he wants revenge.
In a dreamlike conversation with Chris, Charlie relates what happened at the marshland. He pulled a knife on Dean and told him why he was there. Dean didn't remember him. Charlie forced Dean to drop his pants and was disgusted to see Dean had an erection. Charlie forced Dean to kneel and fellate the knife blade. Suddenly, Dean collapsed with an epileptic seizure. Charlie slit his throat.
Chris challenges Charlie, not believing that he killed Dean. Charlie admits that he wanted to but couldn't. Instead, he drove off in Dean's car, abandoning him in the marsh.
Charlie stands up from where he's been kneeling, at a makeshift memorial near where Chris was killed. He walks home and has one more hallucinatory flash. He sees himself on the street, cradling a dying Chris. He kisses Chris goodbye and passes by him. When he turns back, Chris is gone. Charlie makes it home and, finally, is able to sleep.
Charlie presents aspects of his story in the form of urban legends. The film references a number of urban legends, both by having characters describe them as they're depicted and by presenting random people experiencing them. The referenced urban legends include:
