Defying Gravity

A straightforward drama done with a maturity and conviction impressive for a first film.

The gentle lift you feel in watching Defying Gravity is propelled by the earnestness of its emotions.

Has its clunky and wince-worthy moments, it does explore some new territory, and there are moments when it's quite fresh and moving.

An exhaustingly melodramatic yarn...a sorely misguided attempt at tender, heartfelt realism, given a WB-glossy sheen and saddled with a script in which every line is the single most hackneyed thing the character could possibly say.

Plods along, never catching dramatic fire, sometimes suffering from amateurish acting and often relying on its intrusive and treacly music to impart mood and rhythm.

What really undoes writer-director John Keitel's admirable intentions is the general lack of artistry on virtually every level.

Denying Reality, more like. John Keitel's first feature is impossibly naive, even as smoothed-over coming-out tales go.