Any Day Now is a torch song of hope and tragedy.

That “Any Day Now” has been pigeonholed as an LGBT movie does it, and its message, something of a disservice. It deserves a much wider audience than it may receive thanks to that label, and I suspect it won’t gain the traction at the UK box office it should have.

Alan Cumming plays Rudy Donatello, a musician and drag artist working in a gay nightclub in 1979 Hollywood where he meets Paul Fliger (Garret Dillahunt), a recently divorced district attorney, struggling to come out of the closet. Back at his apartment, Rudy finds his drug-addicted prostitute neighbour has left her son Marco, a 14-year-old with Down Syndrome home alone. When it becomes apparent she isn’t coming home, Rudy takes Marco in. Family Services soon intervene and take Marco into care and so Rudy enlists Paul to help him gain custody of Marco.

Alan Cumming has never been better than he is here, and he imbues Rudy with a soulful pathos, veneered with playful exuberance that slowly transforms into a tender, nurturing but fiercely protective parental love towards Marco, played with real subtlety and skill by Isaac Leyva. The supporting cast is very, very good with Frances Fisher, Alan Rachins, Chris Mulkey and Gregg Henry all bring depth and authenticity to their (sometimes despicable) characters but the film belongs to Cumming. How this performance was overlooked for an Oscar nomination mystifies me.

It’s clear that in Marco, Rudy sees a chance to right some of the wrongs of his own childhood and experiences of prejudice. Because of the time constraints of the movie, Rudy and Paul’s journey from first meeting to committed relationship is necessarily truncated in favour of exploring the developing bond between the pair and Marco. For a short, sweet time we are given the privilege of seeing all three members of this unconventional and clandestine family grow and blossom before their secret is discovered and the authorities get involved. Unwilling to abandon Marco to the indifference of the state, Rudy and Marco are forced to turn to the courts to try and keep their family together.

To the credit of writer/ director Travis Fine, the film never once makes an issue out of its two potentially controversial subjects: neither homosexuality or Down Syndrome is portrayed in a glib, exploitative or sensationalist manner. In fact, one of the best features of this movie is how matter-of-factly those subjects are dealt with. No tabloid prurience here, just an authentic honesty which exposes the ugliness and devastating callousness of institutional prejudice and discrimination.

“Any Day Now” is an important and eloquent movie – and it frustrates me that it hasn’t had the attention or success that something like “The Help” did. It will manage to delight and alarm you, draw you in and then break all but the stoniest of hearts. It’s absolutely one you should allow yourself some time for quiet reflection afterwards. This is not a niche LGBT film, this is a gripping, heartfelt drama about human beings and the wonderful and awful things we do to each other.

any day now review
Score 8/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

logo

Related posts

Brian And Charles (2022) Review

Brian And Charles (2022) Review

You'll never look at your washing machine the same way again With Brian and Charles, director Jim Archer and co-writers/ stars David Earl and Chris Hayward craft a delightful oddball bromance that stands as a testament to the beauty of simplicity and imagination. Imagine, if you...

Thor (2011) Review

Thor (2011) Review

Marvel brings the hammer down on its rivals After an disastrous assault on Jotunheim, the home of the Frost Giants, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is banished by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) for his recklessness. Exiled to Earth while his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stages a coup, Thor’s only...

Lavalantula (2015) Review

Lavalantula (2015) Review

It's the Police Academageddon as the spiders take Los Angeles in Lavalantula When volcanic eruptions rock Los Angeles, a swarm of deadly, lava-spewing spiders are released, terrifying the citizens. Only washed up actor Colton West (Steve Guttenberg) stands in their way. Following...

Poltergeist (2015) Review

Poltergeist (2015) Review

#WhatAreYouAfraidOf? Tedious and unnecessary remakes, mostly. The original “Poltergeist” is a marvellous, curious thing: a playfully upbeat and sunny film which steadily darkens, fiendishly subverting its very Spielbergian sense of wonder. The only sense of wonder here is the...

Doctor Strange (2016) Review

Doctor Strange (2016) Review

By the Eye Of Agamotto, Marvel have conjured up another winner By the fourteenth movie, what is there left to say about the Marvel Cinematic Universe? “Doctor Strange” is the latest success for the studio, a solidly entertaining superhero blockbuster which introduces not only an...

The Pool (2020) Review

The Pool (2020) Review

The Pool takes a dive off the deep end of zemblanity. Left alone to finish cleaning out an abandoned 6-metre-deep outdoor swimming pool, Day (Theeradej Wongpuapan) goofs around and falls asleep on an inflatable raft. When he wakes, the water level has dropped so low that he can’t climb...

Craggus’ Trek Trek Phase II Vol 5

Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 5

Set your faces to stunned! It's Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 5 Craggus' Trek Trek Phase II Vol 5 brings you Star Trek The Next Generation Season 2 episodes 8 to 15... Star Trek The Next Generation S2E08: A Matter of Honor Riker participates in...

The Hungover Games (2014) Review

The Hungover Games (2014) Review

Oh God, why do I do this to myself? You know what's funny? Mashing together a whole bunch of pop culture movie references and characters, jam them into an untidy and illogical chimaera of two film franchises, one of which self-destructed thanks to its own sequels and then throw it at the...