The Secrets of Men

There are actors out there who hardly ever get to play the lead, like Jamey Sheridan from TV’s Trauma (no, he didn’t play the main character on that now-defunct show, either).

These are character players, and in Handsome Harry, the spotlight finally shines on Sheridan.

He plays Harry Sweeney, a former Marine harboring a deep-seated secret. Kinda sorta – it’s a bit difficult to do so when you don’t think about it all that much. That’s because he’s a disconnected man, from what was, from his son, from who he is....

The movie explores homosexual denial and reconciling one’s shameful past with one’s quietly tortured present.

Steve Buscemi plays a dying man, the catalyst that sends Harry on a reluctant quest for redemption. He’s one of those character players who pop in as members of the supporting cast, like Aidan Quinn, Campbell Scott (FX’s Damages), and Titus Welliver (TV’s Lost, The Good Wife).

Unevenly written (Bring on the Melodrama! seems to have been the mandate here), yet nicely scored to a jazzy soundtrack, this one’s audience is so limited and in for such a letdown, it makes you wonder if there are, in fact, rocks that are better left unturned.

My Rating **

Photo: FilmInt.nu.