Il Compleanno (2009)

Il Compleanno (David's Birthday) is a gay-interest movie sort of typical of the late 1990s and early 2000s, one in which queer desire is fatal, causing grief and destruction. It seems, in other words, outmoded even for 2009, when it was made. It's all a bit too Thomas Mann for my taste. But, in truth, this is a much more complex drama than one only about the deadliness of queer desire. I thought all of the characters were intriguing. The beautiful beloved object was the least interesting of the movie's six characters. If only the director had balanced things better, this actually showed promise, but Marco Filiberti, who wrote and directed, seems focused on the fatalities and destruction caused by queer desire – even caused by the desirable object of queer desire. And so David's Birthday is quite a disappointing party.