The Delta (1996)

Set in Tennessee, a closeted white teenager (Shayne Gray) leads a double life. He has a girlfriend (Rachel Zan Huss) but he also cruises after dark gay spots like bars, video arcades and cruising areas for sex. He meets a biracial (black/Vietnamese) immigrant gay hustler (Thang Chan) and they embark on a nighttime journey down the Mississippi river. Co-written and directed by Ira Sachs (FORTY SHADES OF BLUE). Shot in 16 millimeter with non professional actors, I found it interesting but also muddled. The intention of the film is to show the divide between racial privilege and class and although both young men are hungry for a human connection, their social status prevents that very thing they are seeking. Unfortunately, Chan's hustler comes across as stalking and creepy, intentionally playing mind games with his pickups. He apparently sees himself as a victim thereby allowing himself his obnoxious behavior. Gray's teen seems more intent on just the sexual aspect of it and we're never very sure if he's gay or just experimenting. As a movie, it's too fragmented to make it coherent. Worth seeing but I just wish it were a whole lot better. With Colonious Davis and Charles J. Ingram.