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Burning Blue: two Navy pilots who fall in love living under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

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gattaca:
Glad you got a refund for HH.  Most Brokie's I know enjoyed the film (with a few potholes) so I felt pretty safe surfacing it.   YMMV as I learned.  Cheers, V.

morrobay:
Well, I was looking forward to seeing this in a theatre, but it was limited release and nowhere near me.

The reviews are starting to come out, maybe I saved some money.  But this is only the NY Times

Navy Pilots Under the Gun

‘Burning Blue,’ a Military Drama About Homosexuality
     

By ANITA GATESJUNE 5, 2014

At last it’s come along: the “Reefer Madness” of gay rights. In D M W Greer’s supposed drama “Burning Blue,” a military official worries aloud that if man-on-man sex among its fighter pilots is not punished severely, the Navy could be perceived as being run by a “perverse cult.”

The esteemed stage actor Michael Cumpsty turns up as an admiral, the father of one of the pilots under investigation; maybe the shooting locations were within walking distance of Broadway. Trent Ford (in what must be defined as the Jan-Michael Vincent role) is the young lieutenant at the center of things. Rob Mayes and Morgan Spector are his handsome fellow pilots, and Tammy Blanchard is the most visible of the trusting wives, straight (pun intended) out of a 1970s soap opera.

The script, by Mr. Greer and Helene Kvale, rolls along with lifeless, profoundly unimaginative dialogue (“The wings on your chest are proof that you’ve accomplished something great”; “I like women”; “I’m not gay”; “Tears won’t bring him back”; “No more lies”). Then there’s a scene in church, and the priest inexplicably begins quoting Rainer Maria Rilke’s gorgeous “Go to the Limits of Your Longing.”

And we are reminded that words can indeed be strung together to evoke emotion. You have to wonder, as the camera pans the pews for reaction shots from the major characters, why the good father’s service is so sparsely attended.

morrobay:
From The Hollywood Reporter

The Bottom Line
This well-intentioned but amateurish effort fails to bring its important subject to compelling life.


A tired feeling afflicts DMW Greer’s directorial debut, which is based on his semi-autobiographical play first staged in London’s West End nearly two decades ago. Concerning an investigation into the suspected gay activities of several U.S. Navy fighter pilots during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, Burning Blue squanders its admirable intentions with its amateurish filmmaking and ham-fisted dialogue. Opening both theatrically and on demand, commercial prospects look bleak.

Set in the 1990’s, the obviously low-budget effort depicts the close friendship between pilots Dan (Trent Ford) and Will (Morgan Spector), who become embroiled in an NCIS investigation after a series of fatal accidents, at least one of which was caused by the latter’s hidden vision problem. Soon the investigation becomes less about the crashes than about such things as Dan’s visit to a NYC gay nightclub, his burgeoning close relationship with new pilot Matt (Rob Mayes), and such ephemera as a photo of Dan and several of his shipmates posing topless in a photograph that he explains was an attempt to recreate a mural in the Sistine Chapel.

The screenplay co-written by Greer and Helene Kvale features heavy doses of melodrama -- much of it involving Will’s crumbling marriage to his unsuspecting wife (Tammy Blanchard) -- and frequently laughable dialogue. “We had a drunken night in New York, let’s chalk it up to experience,” one of the principal characters comments, while the hard-nosed investigator (Michael Sirow) wants to know if Dan and Matt “are doing the dirty deed.”

Although the film is admirable in its intent on exposing the rampant homophobia afflicting the armed forces in the era in which it’s set -- and which continues in various forms to the present day -- it suffers from an unfortunate coyness in its depiction of the relationships among the principal characters. Practically harkening back to the 1950s melodramas of Douglas Sirk, minus the florid style -- even Top Gun was more overtly homoerotic -- it’s a mostly tedious, rambling affair that is only made bearable by the sensitive performances of the three leads actors.

morrobay:
By Odie Henderson on rogerebert.com, possible spoilers




★    |  Odie Henderson
 
June 6, 2014   |  ☄ 1

  
Because of "Burning Blue"’s Navy-pilots-in-love plot, "The Backlot" website referred to the film as "Brokeback Top Gun." If only this were true. Instead, this shockingly amateurish film evokes memories of "Making Love," the Arthur Hiller film about a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality. That film’s made-for-TV movie kid-glove treatment of this subject equates to head-shaking camp today, but is forgivable because "Making Love" was made in 1982. "Burning Blue" has no excuse to play coy in 2014, especially when its romance is supposed to play an integral part in the story.

DMW Greer’s adaptation of his 1995 play has honorable intentions. It wants to show how "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" ruined the lives of many who served in the Armed Forces. A straightforward, heartbreaking drama exists in this material. But Greer’s dialogue and plot points push far beyond the edges of melodrama. Rather than base the witch hunt on the mere speculation that a pilot may be gay, "Burning Blue" creates an investigation into members of one particular squad whose pilots keep dying on flight maneuvers. The series of events leads the Navy to think there’s "a gay cell" endangering its pilots. As absurd as that sounds, it’s actually believable that the Navy would think this. How "Burning Blue" gets here, and what it does afterward, is far more problematic.

It’s not a gay cell causing the accidents, it’s a straight pilot. Will Stephenson (Morgan Spector) selfishly wants to go into space, so he hides the fact that his vision is worse than Mr. Magoo’s. Complicit in this is Will’s BFF and co-pilot Daniel Lynch (Trent Ford), who takes blame for the non-lethal accident that opens "Burning Blue." Since he could not see at a crucial moment, Will flew into a flock of birds, forcing he and Daniel to punch out of the cockpit.

The platonic relationship between Will and Daniel takes center stage, leaving little room for the romantic events that cause Daniel to out himself to the Navy. These events almost seem an afterthought, as NCIS already has enough "evidence" to nail Daniel and accuse Will: A naked picture of Will and his squadron in rather suggestive poses, taken while the crew was drunk in Italy. Greer is way too skittish to show this full-frontal snapshot onscreen longer than 2 seconds, so the pause button is necessary to see just how "incriminating" it is.


There’s more action in that photograph than in the affair between the engaged Daniel and the married Matthew (Rob Mayes). While spending a shore leave day together, Matthew and Daniel take a rather sweet tour of New York City, which culminates with them hooking up with two other people for a one-bed romp. Greer intercuts this poorly framed disaster of a sex scene with scenes of a shirtless Daniel and Matthew doing the funky chicken together at a gay dance club. An angry sailor, who had been punished earlier by Matthew for insubordination, sees this sweaty, shirtless boogie and becomes the star witness against Daniel.

"Burning Blue" is ambiguous about whether Matthew and Daniel sleep with each other. It is certainly not shown, and, outside of one kiss and a scene of Daniel running his fingers through Matthew’s hair, there is no physical interaction between them at all. Greer forces his actors to repeatedly stare longingly at each other from across crowded rooms, as if this were "Some Enchanted Evening." Neither actor is up to the task of conveying this silent passion; their constant stares make them look constipated. When Matthew decides to leave his wife and endanger his career, the first question one asks is "Why?"

Even worse, the NCIS agent tormenting Daniel and his crew is the Javert of homophobia. He’s relentless, showing up comically in places one would not expect, as if he can telegraph where people will be. Wielding his camera like a weapon, he takes photo after photo of innocent activity to build his case. His body language screams "VILLAIN!" and his dialogue is a wellspring of purple prose. His appearances should be accompanied by a horror movie stinger. The interrogations by him and an African-American special agent are so poorly staged they have little suspense. The use of the latter character is particularly nauseating; after persecuting Daniel in scene after scene, he tells him "you’ll feel better if you accept yourself for what you are. It took me a long time to accept that I was Black."

If you see "Burning Blue," ask yourself what its last scene is supposed to mean. It’s a reunion between Daniel and the extremely homophobic Will. Will calls Daniel the F-word, but Daniel still wants a reconciliation between the two. Considering what Will has done to Matthew, this development is a jaw-dropper. Is this supposed to be some kind of victory for LGBT people?

Maybe this material worked in 1995; Wikipedia mentions that it opened to acclaim and awards. Today, it has an air of the old tragic mulatto movies that permeated the 1950s. Again, the intentions are noble; it’s the execution that will stick in your craw. Audiences deserve better depictions of the tragic aftermath of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" than this meek, dated Afterschool Special.

morrobay:
LA Times


'Burning Blue' treats 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' era awkwardly


June 5, 2014, 1:20 PM

The earnest but terribly ham-fisted drama "Burning Blue" is set mostly in the 1990s, during the days of the U.S. military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.".

The film could have been a still-vital snapshot of gay soldiers forced to stay closeted for fear of retribution and dismissal. But it feels positively antiquated in the hands of writer-director D.M.W. Greer, whose decades-old, semi-autobiographical stage play is the basis for this movie. (The play, first performed in London in 1995, ran in 1998 at Los Angeles' now-defunct Court Theatre.)

The story finds naval officer Dan Lynch (Trent Ford) the focus of an internal investigation after being spotted carousing in a Manhattan gay bar with fellow squadron pilot Matt Blackwood (Rob Mayes). Why the circumspect — and outwardly "straight" — Dan and Matt would have danced shirtless together in full of view of others (including, it turns out, a few soldier buddies) is mighty curious.

But, like so much else here, this pivotal moment is awkwardly rendered. Due in part to some choppy shooting and editing, events and interactions often unfold in confusing, seemingly truncated fashion. Several alleged military maneuvers and their related entanglements are especially baffling.

Matters are not helped by scads of hackneyed dialogue. Most problematic, though, is the portrayal of the doomed love between Dan and Matt. Their underdeveloped romance largely consists of furtive glances, forced denials and abortive clinches. When the guys finally do kiss, it might as well be the 1950s for all the heat they generate. "Brokeback Mountain" it ain't.

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