Chris Mason Johnson's film drama "Test" returns to San Francisco in 1985, where the fear of AIDS completely changes social life.
Frankie (Scott Marlowe) is new to the gay metropolis of San Francisco and a member of a modern dance company with which he is rehearsing for a piece with the telling title "After Dark". So far, the man in his mid-twenties is only the understudy. A big career is still a long way off.
His colleague, rival and yet also friend Todd (Matthew Risch) is already further along than him in many ways: He is an established dancer in the company, openly gay and sexually experienced. Because the pay is moderate, he earns some extra money by having sex on the side.
Casual paranoia
There are feature films that have shown the extent to which the AIDS crisis affected the lives of sufferers and the gay community in the early years of the epidemic more drastically and unsparingly: the horror as well as the death and suffering. In his cinema drama "Test", Chris Mason Johnson initially only gives a casual glimpse of these changes in social interaction, in the thoughts and actions of individuals and the resulting paranoia.
During rehearsals, a colleague refuses to continue dancing with the sweaty Todd. She doesn't say it, but everyone knows what insecurity has made her so upset: Who knows for sure that you can't get it via sweat? And when Todd drops out one day and no longer comes to the performances, nobody asks what he is actually ill with. People think they already know the truth, but don't want to say it.
Quarantine?
At the parties, the gays exchange advice, fears and disturbing stories in a conspiratorial tone. In the Castro neighbourhood, restaurants are said to be experiencing a drop in sales: Customers are avoiding the eateries because the food could be prepared by gays. And at church services, not everyone wants to drink the mass wine from the same chalice. A headline in the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" asks: "Should gays be quarantined?"
Almost like a well-practised ritual, Frankie checks his body for suspicious marks in front of the mirror every morning. And when his neighbour asks him to do so during a spontaneous quickie, Frankie doesn't want to cum in his mouth. And when he later ends up in bed with his disco acquaintance Walt (Kristoffer Cusick), he pulls out a utensil that has so far been anything but a matter of course: a condom.
Walt is one of the first people to be tested for the virus. He leaves the news of his positive HIV status on Frankie's answering machine. He also wants to face the truth and decides to get tested. Two gruelling weeks of waiting begin for him.
The fact that filmmaker Chris Mason Johnson, who was able to realise "Test" through crowdfunding on the Kickstarter platform, can look back on his own ballet career is evident in the stylish and extensive dance scenes. On the other hand, his film weakens in the development of the supporting characters, and Kevin Clarke as Frankie is not necessarily the most charismatic cast imaginable.
A new wave of monogamy
On the other hand, the initially perceived lack of excitement and undramatic narrative style increasingly turns out to be a special quality. The melancholy underlying tone even allows for some humorous scenes. And the radical upheavals triggered by the AIDS crisis - including the serious stigmatisation of gays and people infected with HIV - are also communicated through the small shifts and changes in everyday life. Sometimes all it takes is a pointed, well-placed line of dialogue: "Do you think there could be a new wave of monogamy? It seems so ... unnatural."
"Test". USA 2013, directed by Chris Mason Johnson; actors: Scott Marlowe, Matthew Risch, Kristoffer Cusick, Damon K. Sperber. OmU, 92 minutes. The DVD has been released by pro-fun.
Click here for the Trailer (without subtitles)
