Courtesy of KBiz Entertainment

Patrik-Ian Polk, creator of the LOGO series Noah’s Arc and subsequent film Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, as well as Punks (2001) and The Skinny (2012) is one of the few filmmakers around portraying the lives of gay African Americans. His new movie Blackbird, based on the novel by Larry Duplechan, is a coming of age story that is both melodramatic and charmingly offbeat. Shot in Polk’s hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the film is unusual for several reasons, not least of which is its main character’s plight: a small-town, devoutly Southern Baptist teen heavily conflicted about his homosexuality. It isn’t an issue often explored in popular media.

The movie stars sweet-faced, angelic-voiced Julian Walker as charismatic choirboy Randy, who wants desperately to be a good Christian, yet keeps having disturbing (to him) sexual dreams about his schoolmate and friend Todd, on whom he clearly has a crush. This attraction is obvious to everyone but him, especially his coterie of open-minded friends and fellow drama students, including the wisecracking, openly gay Efrem (Gary LeRoi Gray, who has the movie’s funniest lines), football player Todd (Torrey Laamar), who is dating rebellious preacher’s daughter Leslie (D. Woods), and Crystal (Nikki Jane), who wants to lose her virginity to someone she actually likes, i.e., Randy. The kids come up with the idea of putting on a male version of Romeo and Juliet, starring Julian and the incredibly game Todd. Though Randy’s friends are almost too good to be true, their natural-sounding dialogue is appropriately profane and sarcastic. (At one point, Efrem paraphrases Oscar Wilde, who knew all about feeling alienated.)

Adding to all this melodrama is Randy’s super-religious mom, played by Mo’Nique (one of the film’s executive producers), still distraught over the disappearance of his little sister six years before, and his dad (Isaiah Washington), who left the family some time ago but keeps checking in on Randy, who initially wants nothing to do with him. As Randy and Todd rehearse love scenes from Romeo and Julian, the former is torn between his obvious yearnings and trying to stay in Jesus’s good graces. As his dreams get more explicit, he prays ever more desperately to be “normal.” To complicate things even further, Randy auditions for and wins a part in a local student film, where his co-star is the strikingly cute and white Marshall (Kevin Allesee), who becomes instantly smitten with the teen.

Courtesy of KBiz Entertainment

It’s a testament to Polk and his strong cast that despite these baroque storylines, the movie glides along briskly and enjoyably. Punctuating the action are musical interludes – Randy leading the choir in rousing praise or breaking into irreverent song during rehearsals – and the soundtrack is an interesting mix of soulful hymns and lo-fi indie tunes, another unusual element in this atypical film. With its likeable characters, stirring music and big emotions, one can’t help but visualize Blackbird staged as a big, fabulous musical.

Randy eventually finds his way with the help of his friends and tolerant father, who admonishes him: “Never disrespect God by being ashamed of his work.” The film’s rather neat (and quick!) resolution doesn’t really detract from its strengths and is actually somewhat consistent with its fable-like tone.

Can deep Christianity and homosexuality co-exist? Clearly Polk thinks so and he has made a work that could bring comfort to those, especially the young, who are struggling with these issues. For the rest of us, Blackbird is an entertaining, poignant film with a terrific soundtrack.

—Marina Zogbi

Blackbird is playing in NYC at AMC Village 7,  AMC Empire 25, and AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9.