Twink

By: Robert O'Neill
In-House Review - Oct 02 2014

Though he's relatively new to the gay cinema scene, British actor/writer/director/podcaster Wade Radford has become impressively prolific in just a short amount of time. Since 2012, he has released four films with collaborator Jason Impey - Sex, Lies and Depravity, More Sex, Lies and Depravity, Boys Behind Bars and 1 Last Chance at Paradise - and his output doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Confined to one dank, dirty apartment and consisting mostly of extended character monologues, Twink was filmed in only ONE DAY. It is, as you might imagine, a pretty "bare-bones" effort. There is something to be said, though, for its ramshackle, no-budget nature.

Radford stars as Quinn, a former porn star who now lives in -addled squalor. He seems to have a tough time discerning the difference between his on-screen and off-screen personas. He lacks an identity and shows signs of mental instability during extended interviews with a documentary filmmaker (played by Impey, who is heard, though never seen).

Quinn, once known by adoring fans as "Kayden Daydream," feels that he was unfairly used and abused by the gay porn industry, but he can't seem to go on without it. He begs viewers to suck his toes, sit on his face and more because the only way he knows how to comfortably exist on camera is by debasing himself sexually.

Twink aims to show what might happen to a person when they're adored, lusted after and ultimately abused at far too young an age - offered all the attention and praise they can handle, only to have it taken away in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, the effect isn't pretty. The interview culminates in an act of violence - one that is meant to be gruesome, but really just plays as silly given how believable Radford's performance has been up until that point.

The level to which you enjoy the film will depend entirely on how captivated you are by said performance. A natural in front of the camera, Radford improvises with great ease and magnifies his own narcissistic traits to serve the character. It's an admirable "warts-and-all" performance, but it's not necessarily enough to sustain a whole film (even at only 68 minutes). Most viewers will probably check out early - or fast-forward to the scenes where he's writhing around in his underwear.

Nevertheless, it's hard not to admire the strategy behind Twink and wish the filmmakers well. Self-professed guerilla filmmakers, committed to delivering edgy independent gay cinema, Impey and Radford don't wait around for someone to back their projects. They make due with what they have and satisfy their creative urges. It will be exciting to see what they do when someone actually offers them a budget.

By: Amos Lassen

Some of you might have noticed that I have been writing a good deal about a new writer and actor, Wade Radford. There is a reason for this and it is simply because the guy is a dynamo and I want to make sure that the gets the breaks he deserves. He already has two books under his belt and a third book coming and he also has five completed films-three that I have already reviewed and here comes the fifth.

"Twink" was filmed in a single day with a single camera and a single actor (Radford). There was no real shooting script or screenplay so what we hear is improvisation (remember Michael Leigh, the British director that uses the same technique). Now the cost to make the film ($35) is proof that a good film can be made for little money (here for the same price as three people eating at a fast food restaurant and getting desert).

We meet Kaden (Radford), a former porn star who has left the skin trade and finds his life spiraling downward. He lives in a hovel and for the next almost 70 minutes, he appears on camera looking very boyish but that changes when he begins to speak. Even of he did not speak we would find him mesmerizing with his eyes that twinkle and shine and a mouth from which anything is liable to come. He is a sexy young number and some of you might just feel a swelling in your loins as he takes over the screen. Jason Impey directs him but then neither is quite sure what we will say. We hear about living in society but in a way that begins genteelly. I thought to myself after the movie began that this could be quite a bore but Kaden is so inviting even in his unhappiness that we anxiously await anything that comes out of his mouth. He reads a poem (that Radford actually wrote), he speaks about his childhood and growing up and we feel that we are learning about this somewhat impish and sexy young man that we see on the screen. I can only imagine how difficult it is for him to play against himself.

What I expect was to see his vulnerability. He has distrust for everyone but then he has had a lousy life. We watch him drink and smoke grass as he does; his mind opens more and more. We know we are heading somewhere and we can guess what it is but when it comes, it is a shocker. His story is not pretty but then anyone who suffers a set back has a story that is not pretty and becomes bitter and we really sense that bitterness here. He seems to forget that he got into porn because he wanted to and now that he is no longer with it, he blames the industry and not himself. To some, his story will sound familiar-you know the story, "I did everything they said but they did not treat me right". The emotions come fast and furious and we feel the director and the star working in unison. Both men are going after the world in which we live-Radford is the mouthpiece while Impey directs the show. The film is raw and it hurts but we need to stop and think how much life hurts. Radford says that there are those who see wrong and do nothing to fix it and then there is Kaden who says that he is not taking it anymore and shoots the bird at the world and tells it to go fuck itself.

However, I do know that what Kaden says is not based on Radford's own life. Kaden is both a likeable and a reprehensible character. You either want to hate him or want to like him and you seesaw with these ideas as you watch him. He gives us a message-we are vulnerable, we can all be exploited and even though we know this, we let it happen. Do we blame ourselves or do we blame the world?

In a recent interview, Radford was asked if there was one thing that he wanted viewers to take away form the film, what would it be? His answer is for his viewers to take a good look at who are where they are and to consider the lives of others. Everyone has a story but it is important to know that we get what we work for. Hey, we know that but sometimes we need to be reminded. When and if you can, get a copy of "Twink" and let it remind you.