Gay-themed docu-drama type indie digital film shows a whole gaggle of friends and acquaintances discussing the central couple's relationship (in answer to the oft repeated, all-consuming question "What do you think about Cris and Eric?"), but in the process feature gets away from the open emotionalism of the couple involved. Nonetheless, what writer/director Cris Pablo's "Doubt" lacks in "Happy Together"-type intensity, it nearly makes up for with its freewheeling look at Manila's vital gay community. DV-shot motion picture trades on home-movie intimacy rather than porn sleaze, with artfully fudged beach front nudity thrown in for good measure. Director/writer Pablo has tempered his autobiographical faux docu-drama with healthy doses of interpersonal kitsch. Indeed, when Cris, driven by frustration and despair, attempts suicide, the viewer is treated to a seeming hallucination in the form of a media mock up of egocentricity: a swishy talk show in garish candy colors where a battery of fey guests in spangly costumes is interviewed about the topic on everybody's lips -- what happened to Eric and Cris? Lenser Alma de la Pena opts for a somewhat virulent spectrum of saturated color. Asian and gay fest life seems assured.
Review of Doubt
