Shelter

The acting was perfection, the casting and direction top of the line. Both Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe give stellar performances. They convey emotions all the way to their eyes expressions. There are so few movies which accurately show two men falling in love as men, from their tenderness to their anger. There was not a weak character in the movie. This film shows what being gay is about for a lot of men. No gay bars, lots of heterosexual family and friends. Wright's facial acting as he drives home after the first romp is as good as it gets.

One of the very best "Bambi" coming-of-age or "coming-out" movies I've ever watched. I say that in all sincerity. I'm 63 and have been watching independent queer cinema since its origin with the 1986 seminal "NO APOLOGIES" gay-point-of view classic "Parting Glances." There have been a few films in the decades-long interim which live up to the sophistication and narrative promise of "Parting Glances." "World and Time Enough (1984), "Latter Days" (1992), "Defying Gravity" (1994), and "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" (1991, I believe) all deliver an almost miraculous depth of feeling from an impossibly paltry financial investment. This little film "Shelter" is a panoply of the highs and lows of love and devotion and it truly satisfied my desire for its protagonist to achieve the joyful contentment he so deserves. "Shelter" is a love-ly story (in every sense of that word) and I hope you will be as pleased by it as I am.An aside: See Brad Rowe (Shaun) at his most Robert Redford-ish in "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" with Sean Hayes as Billy, a lonely yet hopeful photographer with a tuxedo-wearing guardian angel. (Directed by Tommy O'Haver)

I had no expectations when I decided to rent this. But by the end, I had gone through such a flood of painfully lovely memories --both real and imagined --that I decided to buy it, keep it, and fell the wonderful expectations that are the essence of love. Wow. This is a keeper. And Shane Mack, your music and your singing are terrific -- and that's coming from a committed classical musician!

Was Soooo great I watched it like 3 times, even though I saw it a couple years ago, I wanted to again. The sort of movie that is very fresh, easy to watch, great character development, realistic, seems like it was just made yesterday, very modern feel, realistic. The 2nd character is awesome; do not understand at all why i've never seen him in anything else, the object of the main characters friendship, his dead friend's older brother. Someone seriously needs to recast the 2nd, older character in more new movies. Someone must have $ to film. Maybe a Free Fall 3, after they make Free Fall 2. Less gritty than Free Fall, this is family film in English (America, California, surfer crowd-- very very realistic depiction of trying to afford living in California !!). A very memorable film, with a happy heart-felt believable ending, --like peeking into someone's life you really wished you knew.

This was such a great movie. I can’t believe it’s 12 years old and I’m just finding it now, but better late than never. The scenery, the characters, the storyline, the soundtrack, the acting - I loved it all.*SPOILERS AHEAD*The only criticism I have is that we didn’t hear the characters discuss their future or their feelings. I realize they’re men and men typically don’t drone on about such things, but shouldn’t they have at least said “I love you” once? And to go from being broken up to moving in with each other and a kid within a minute and without any discussion other than “Will you help me?” and “Let’s do this” felt sort of lacking, especially given that Shaun had just broken up with a live-in bf a few weeks before, and Zach showed a pattern of breaking up & getting back together with both his ex and then Shaun. Maybe the final scene at the beach was supposed to speak to all of those unanswered questions, and I suppose it did (for me), but I think it would’ve felt a bit more satisfying if it had been addressed instead of just alluded to.Even with that one, teensy-tiny crticism, I still think it’s a great movie, deserving of the many 5-star reviews it has received, and worth every penny of the cost of the rental or purchase.One last comment: Why isn’t Trevor Wright a huge star? He was phenomenal in this and proved he has serious talent. He should be a household name, but his IMDb page says he hasn’t worked since 2012. What a shame. Brad Rowe was also terrific in this, but his IMDb page shows he’s still working steadily, thankfully. It’d be great if they made a sequel, to show how everyone’s doing 10 years later.

This movie has its cheesy moments and the music for the most part isn't very good, but the acting, writing, and directing are really excellent. The cast is great and makes the movie what it is: heartbraking and heartwarming and full of moments we've all experienced somehow in our lives. I've seen a lot of gay movies, and many of them are awful and rely too much on sex and nudity to fuel the film. Shelter isn't like that. It relies on character development and emotion which is what made me fall in love with the film when it first came out.

This is the best LGBTQ movie I have ever seen. The acting is so natural and authentic, the love story is absolutely beautiful, and the movie has the best happiest ending I have ever seen for a love story like this. The whole movie is beautiful even the soundtrack invokes a beautiful feeling. The story is great discussing class struggles and family love. It displays what a good relationship should look like and the chemistry between the actors makes it all the more believable. Everything about this movie is worth it, I watch this all the time on rainy days or when I need to feel grounded.

Amazing film. The storyline is realistic and believable/relatable. Five stars means it reaches inside you and touches what's important. All of the actors shined in this. I'll be looking for more from these stars.

This is a real rarity in gay movies. It has a good, human story, doesn't dwell overly much on the sex aspect and is well written and produced. Trevor Wright as Zach can act rings round others I've seen. He gives an affecting performance as the young surfer and street artist who is trapped in a dead-end job, living at home with his disabled father and his sister who uses him as an on-demand babysitter for his five-year-old nephew, Cody. Cody regards Zach as his daddy and Zach cares deeply about his young charge. I don't like to give away too many plot elements but things begin to change for Zach when he meets his best friend's older brother, Shaun, played by Brad Rowe. The ending is totally unexpected and unique and the whole film experience is worth much more than the cost of the Blu-ray. You need to see it - really!

What can I say about this movie?I f-loved it.I read about it in a book I was reading and decided to YouTube the trailer. I become slightly obsessed with it and brought the DVD asap.I've watched it numerous times - and will watch it more - as it's just one of those movies for me.I love that it's a 'coming out' 'learning about your sexuality" movie and the fact it has a HEA!I've never watched a GAY movie before this one and I will look for others that are similar.If you're like me and a GAY movie virgin this is a brilliant film to start with. ENJOY!!! ☺️

I've seen many, many movies with a gay storyline over the years, and this is only the forth one that I would call "good". Its a lovely movie with a stunning main actor who can actually act - a rarity in movies made for the pink dollar. The plot is a bit generic, but very believable.Growing up as an average male in an overly hetero world and realising you're gay is something many young guys face in their life. This movie tells this story extremely well.I bought the Blu Ray from Amazon UK and it arrived very quickly. The quality of both sound and picture are outstanding. I'm very pleased I opted for the Blu Ray, the picture quality is gorgeous.By the way, the other gay movies I think are excellent are "Making Love" (from way back in 1980, the first ever mainstream film that looked at gays sensitively), "Maurice" (the best gay film ever made) and the now-classic "Torch Song Trilogy". "Shelter" can proudly stand next to those great films.

The plot reads like a cliche, the whole thing could be a cliche, but importantly it doesn't feel like a cliche. It's a perfect feel good film - probably the best gay film I've seen and one of the best 'feel good' films generally - straight or gay. This film, with its universal story about finding and needing unselfish love (shelter) and great leads, should have been on more general release.The screenplay is actually slimline and sparse, despite all the surfer 'dude' speak; the cinematography makes the most of the evening light and beautiful landscape as well as the beautiful (in a different way) rougher San Pedro neighbourhood and industrial architecture. Thanks to the Jeanne, Cody and art school subplots the story has more to it than 'straight guy' falls for gay guy, has a bit of a freak out and then they get together line. The blurb for the DVD conveys something a lot more steamy, a lot less sensitive, than the actual film.The two leads are wonderful and have a lot of chemistry, with a little awkwardness at first which is probably realistic. They're both very nice to look at, though very different types, and both are good actors - I'm really surprised they are not more well known. The young guy who plays 'Zach' in particular is able to convey so much through expression alone. The other characters, especially Jeanne and Gabe, have a bit more to them than you initially expect, Cody the kid is great - really natural - and Tori is sweet.The Shane Mack music is a great summer soundtrack. Again I'm amazed that this hasn't ended up in the charts or more widely known.

This film is possibly my favourite film of all time and not just because it's a gay film. The acting in this is superb, you really get to see the film from the characters perspectives.This film does have a happy ending and that's partly the reason I love it so much - it makes me want to find love and have my own gay happy ending 😂