Review by Amos Lassen
By: Amos Lassen
"Hard Paint" ("Tinta Bruta")
Finding Acceptance
Amos Lassen
"Hard Paint" takes us into the double life of Pedro (Shico Menegat). During the day he's an awkward, disconcertingly withdrawn young gay man; by night, he is a sexually provoc...
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"Hard Paint" ("Tinta Bruta")
Finding Acceptance
Amos Lassen
"Hard Paint" takes us into the double life of Pedro (Shico Menegat). During the day he's an awkward, disconcertingly withdrawn young gay man; by night, he is a sexually provocative webcam performer whose trademark is slathering himself in fluorescent body paint This is why he uses the handle NeonBoy. Pedro's position in life is precarious. His career in porn is a result of a lack of job prospects in his home city of Porto Alegre. We learn that he's been bullied to the breaking point in the past and there are legal complications that do not make his future look bright.
The filmmakers Felipe Matzembacher and Marco Reolon show Pedro's online exploits are the result his not having a supportive queer community for him to become a part of. Online, at least, he can make connections with other gay men from the relative safety of his home, under the protective gaze of his older sister Luiza (Guega Peixoto). Pedro's strong desire to preserve his online brand ultimately sends him down a path towards romance with rival performer Leo (Bruno Fernandes).
This is a character study that is empathetic and emotionally engaging, but unflinching and unsentimental. It is also very erotic and often exposes the essence of its characters through arresting explicit imagery. Pedro and Leo's first sexual encounter is a compellingly and ambiguous dance in which the pair try to use their authority over one another despite mutual desire. The film is entertainingly unpredictable. Quite basically, this is a bittersweet story about finding connection in a cold, hostile world.
Life is one suffocating event after another for Pedro He has been bullied, abused and marginalized from an early age and has only been able to be himself during his impromptu video chat streams, where he ingeniously carries out an entire ritual of arousal and sexual exhilaration. His relief comes from the thickness and spunk of hard paint that he devotedly uses as a comfort blanket to perform. Unlike his day-to-day self, which is perceived by others as anti-social, lifeless and strange, his online persona is daring, glowing and completely uninhibited. As Neon Boy, Pedro ceases to be the self-conscious, hermitlike kid and he transforms into a fierce and flawlessly sensual lover who does not shun his identity and does not shy away from expressing his fantasies.
"Hard Paint" looks at the important topics of social exclusion, suicide, loneliness, abandonment and abuse. We get a genuine and painstakingly accurate account of feeling alienated from society and desperately trying to grasp at life's "normal aspects" in order to not disappear. Pedro rarely leaves his apartment, he has not experienced the meaning of love and connection beyond artificial desire and he has no close friends to confide in about his growing unease with himself and his past. When another chat room performer named Boy25 steals his idea of incorporating neon paint in his streams, Pedro is then to relinquish the comfort of his sheltering home.
Pedro's rival is Leo (Bruno Fernandes), a charming professional dancer and similarly wounded young man who's troubled past could never be fully reconciled. With great hopes, Leo uses his website to earn enough money to pursue a career in dancing. He plans to move to Buenos Aires, eventually earn a scholarship and leave his suffocating environment. Pedro is touched by Leo's story and frankness and allows himself to become vulnerable for the first time. Their ensuing webcam double act becomes very popular but it is only a small part of their sweet off-screen relationship. Fernandes and Menegat give heartwarming and their chemistry fuels the entire film.
At the end, we watch Pedro gracefully unleash his body in a dance of unrestricted acceptance and self-compassion. The film is all about embracing your sexuality and being comfortable in your own skin. The plot is straightforward, its performances sublime, and it is an honest representation of being LGBTQ in today's world.