Director: Travis Fine.
Starring: Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, Isaac Leyva, Frances Fisher, Don Franklin.
Certificate: 18.
Running Time: 97 minutes.
Synopsis: Rudy (Alan Cumming) and Paul (Garret Dillahunt) experience love at first sight. The first days of their relationship are spent trying to secure custody of Marco (Isaac Leyva), Rudy’s disabled neighbour who is severely neglected by his drug abusing mother.
Set in a time where gay rights were virtually nonexistent, ANY DAY NOW doesn’t shy away from the extreme. Not only is it a story of abused children and gay adoption rights, but it’s also a love story that goes from initial attraction to taking care of a child in only a matter of days. As new couple Rudy and Paul unite to fight for the right to raise Marco in a safe environment, they must get to know each other while exploring the meaning of core family and stable home.
The story of Rudy, Paul and their adoptive son Marco is incredibly strong and moving to say the least. The 1970s setting and subject matter (along with several scenes taking place in a courtroom) give the impression that ANY DAY NOW is based on a true story, but it isn’t, even if the short 97 minutes feel much longer as Marco’s mother’s crimes, Rudy’s singing career and Paul’s double life are all squeezed in.
Alan Cumming is incredible in his role as the broken down Rudy who finally finds something to fight for, even if the court situations often reduce him to a Dustin Hoffman, KRAMER VS. KRAMER caricature. He plays the emotional drag queen perfectly, flitting from angry gay man to caring mother throughout, with a constant smile on his face, even when using jokes as his favourite form of self-defence. His partner is played by the exceptional Garrett Dillahunt, who somehow manages to portray both a stern, square man and a force to be reckoned with as he fights for his rights, his lover’s and Marco’s.
ANY DAY NOW captures the heartbreak of an impossible situation in a beautiful, mesmerising and truly moving manner. Its central message – sexuality doesn’t matter, but the home the parents create does – may become increasingly clear, but the improbable storyline gets in the way of this, unfortunately not leaving enough of a lasting impression.
ANY DAY NOW is released in UK cinemas on Friday 6th September.
