A Wave of Love

Jonah Markowitz makes his feature-film directorial debut with Shelter, a gay indie starring Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe (Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss).

Wright plays Zach, a young San Pedro graffiti artist who’s given up on art school to look after his nephew, Cody, and bail out his unsupportive, judgmental, flaky older sister, Jeanne (HBO’s Six Feet Under).

When his BFF’s older brother, Shaun (Rowe), comes home from Los Angeles looking to surf away a bad case of writer’s block, Shaun and Zach quickly develop a friendship that evolves into a true, intimate, yet hush-hush relationship.

Shaun pushes Zach to take control of his life, and encourages him not to put himself last anymore. Although they make him nervous, Zach eventually embraces the changes that Shaun is bringing about in him, and soon the two become a strong parental unit to Cody.

As time and the relationship progress, however, a new issue comes up: Zach – still struggling to balance his identity, his family, and his friendships – is confronted by Jeanne, who threatens to take Cody away because she disapproves of his lifestyle. Like hers is so much better.

In the end, the question the movie raises is whether Zach will play it safe again, or will he finally come into his own.

I was surprised by how much I liked Shelter.

I enjoyed that this wasn’t your average gay movie and that although it has been easily dubbed the “gay surfer movie,” it transcends that silly label and depicts a promising relationship in a realistic light.

It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s well-paced and -acted, rather moving, and really quite handsome.

Shelter premieres on here! TV tonight (check your local listing).

My Rating ***

Photo: LIGLFF.com.