There haven’t been many films about aging gay men, so it’s always nice to see one that tries to tackle the subject in some capacity. This film is less about love and more about what can happen to certain gay men in the prime of their lives when their families no longer want them and they are deeply lonely. Friendship and love/admiration can bring a spark into your life at any time. The friendship between two old men becomes love in its own way.Slightly unkempt, exhausted, and frail, Philippe Lanctot moves into an old age home. He is single, and apparently his younger sister used to care for him, but after his death, he is almost forced into this community. He is unhappy about it and nearly grumpy. The staff tries to lift his spirits, but it feels as though he has already given up on life. Then a man named Victor suddenly arrives in his room in a wheelchair. He is brash, talks constantly, has no concept of personal space or boundaries, and is a real chatty Kathy. Philippe initially finds him very annoying, but soon begins warming to him, and the two develop a strong friendship in which Victor shows Philippe that being around other people is not so bad. Victor gives Philippe the gift of living in the moment. In return, the well-heeled Philippe arranges outings for dinner and to a botanical garden and, without Victor knowing, becomes his benefactor when Victor’s children get stingy. During one heartfelt conversation, Victor explains that he was married before realizing…

Released in 1988, this was apparently HBO's first-ever gay themed TV film. It was adapted from a play, and you can tell almost immediately, since nearly all of it unfolds in an apartment with two people talking through their grief and arguing over whether that grief belongs equally to both of them.The story begins after the death of a man named Colin. His ex-wife Marion, who spent more than a decade with him, and his lover Arthur, who stayed at his side during the brutal last months of his life with AIDS, meet in the loft they have each inherited half of under Colin's will and now have to sell. From there, the two sit with old resentments and fresh ones, orbiting each other, making confessions, and gradually trying to process a loss neither quite knows how to bear. Marion discloses that she has also been infected with the virus. Arthur, understandably, though also somewhat selfishly, wants to believe his grief is the more valid one. They're both shattered, and both need somewhere to direct the blame. Yet as more comes out and their defenses lower a little, the dynamic between them changes, and the tension slowly gives way to understanding and the start of a genuine friendship.What I appreciated was how little the film tries to make any of this big or dramatic. The characters respond as real people probably would: messily, inconsistently, and not always sympathetically. Both lead actors handle it well, and the writing captures how genuinely complicated relationships like these can be. Still, the constant back-and-forth…