Shelter (2007) : A Wonderful Love Story!!

A few days ago, I watched a WONDERFUL movie – Shelter! It’s about a guy, Zack (played beautifully by Trevor Wright), who falls in love with his best friend, Gabe’s (Ross Thomas) elder brother, Shaun (brilliant performance by Brad Rowe).

Zack (Trevor Wright) and Shaun (Brad Rowe) in "Shelter"

Zack is high-school dropout “street” artist who draws nameless murals around the town when he is not surfing, working at the diner or babysitting his nephew Cody, his sister Jeanne’s son. He is one of “those” guys, the kind that put others’ happiness before his own. The story begins when Shaun, a “fiction” writer, comes back to town clear a case of Writer’s Block. It is apparent, right from Shaun’s entry on screen, that Zack is totally crazy about him – the way he smiles coyly when he first finds Shaun in Gabe’s house, the way he calls him “Master” and himself “his Student”, the way he bestows undivided attention on Shaun – which even becomes apparent to Tori, his on-off girlfriend, the way he says he read Shaun novel “just as it came out” even quoting from it. Shaun, on the other hand it seems, does like him, but does not love him, or at least is trying hard to not express it – the only thing which belies his feelings is the way he touches his ear when Zack tells him, he read his book and he says, “I never knew, you knew about me.”

The story changes its tact when, after a drunken night, Shaun kisses Zack, and Zack starts looking at the possibility of actually falling in love with Shaun – it’s not a childhood fantasy anymore – trying to come to terms with his new-found sexuality. Shaun, on other hand, completely accepts his feelings, realizing that Zack actually reciprocates the love he has felt, since they were kids. But when he finds that Zack is “not ready” yet, he respectfully backs off, only to have Zack come back in his life.

Their first night together is marked by a fiery passion; the long dormant feelings and long hidden desires that suddenly erupt in a tumultuous volcano of endless emotions. But that isn’t the end of it, as is noticeable by the look on Shaun’s face, when he wakes up next to Zack, the next morning. Then there is the way, Zack blushes and smiles in his car on the way home after their night together. They are clearly in love.

Jeanne, then, decides to dump Cody onto Zack, as she leaves for the weekend with her boyfriend Alan, leaving Zack and Shaun to take care of him. Shaun is not only sport about it – he actually likes having Cody around. Inviting and spoiling Cody on their date is just the beginning, as Shaun plays a “doting father” to Cody the entire weekend. He is no different than all the men, pursuing a single mother, that the movie industry has given us – be it John Travolta in “Look Who’s Talking!” or Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire”. Only in this case, it’s not the mother, but an uncle – a minor difference, apparently.

When Gabe returns home unexpectedly, the hidden relationship takes a toll on Zack, not in the least helped by the fact that Jeanne is constantly nagging him to break it off, insisting it is not a good upbringing for Cody. Apparently, her moving around and acting like a total slut is “a good upbringing”, but Zack finding love with one another is not, only because it is man! I couldn’t help but feel, wanting to slap her hard – I can “slap”, believe me – just to get her to see the light. But Zack, being too good a guy that he is, breaks it off with Shaun, crushing him.

In the meantime, Zack decides that Shaun may be right – he can never escape his existence until he actually makes a stand and finally decides to re-apply to Cal-Arts, only to find his portfolio missing. At first, I thought it was Jeanne who had stolen it, because she couldn’t handle Zack leaving and her being stuck with Cody, apparently from the way she says, “No, I haven’t seen it”, then changing the topic to tell him about a new job, “because they could use the money”. It seems that Zack can never escape, especially when Jeanne decides to move to Oregon leaving Cody behind, with him. All is lost, until Zack receives a call from Cal-Arts, stating they are considering his application for re-admission, impressed by the portfolio he sent from an Ocean Beach address – Shaun’s address. But Shaun has finally decided to stop pursuing and move on – only this time, Zack is not giving up without a fight. Zack manages to convince him that he is ready – to move in and start a new life, together – having fully come to terms with not only his sexuality, but also his love.

They go back home, where Zack gives Jeanne a choice –either she can stay take care of her son, or she can go away and let Cody live with them. Jeanne chooses later, and they move together to L.A. with Cody in tow, where Zack returns to school. The end montage, intervowen with the wonderful rendition of “Goin’ Home” by Bill Ferguson, depicts a day on the beach in their new life – the three look like a perfectly happy family.

At The Beach

It is a beautiful love story, and the fact that both the leads are ‘Straight’ in real life re-enforces the point. But the chemistry between the two is un-believable! Then, there is the fact that the Gays are not “portrayed” as “Gays” usually shown in the movies – they are just two people who fall in love. The circumstances surrounding their love are also not new or unique – “Friends” had “Ross and Rachel” fall in love in these very circumstances – a childhood crush that manifested into adult love. Then there is also the relation between Cody and Shaun, a fatherly relationship, and Zack’s indirect referral as a single parent, as in the first scene where Zack explains to Cody that, he is his uncle, while Cody insists that he is his father – yet another commonplace Hollywood plotline. But the interweaving of these two plotlines, gives an end result of a beautiful thing that touches not the heart, but the very soul.

Another thing I liked about it, was the fact that the only two people who actually supported Zack, in his relation were the very people he’d felt he betrayed – Tori, his girlfriend and Gabe, Shaun’s younger brother, both of whom are also his best friends. Gabe tells him he doesn’t care, if Zack is in relation with his brother – he, actually, tries to clear the air by asking him to describe Shaun’s prowess in bed, prompting Zack to kick him out. But he takes it lightly, understanding that emotions Zack is going through are not simple, insisting “they will always be brothers”. Tori, on the other hand, asks him to give the relationship a chance, because Shaun is a good guy, and “they don’t belong to people forever”, but “it’s worth it”, while it lasts.

The soundtrack is beautiful – all of ‘Shane Mack’ songs are awesome, though I have a special mention for his “Lie to Me”, the song I have become addicted to. I listen to it whenever I am at home, even when I am sleeping, much to chagrin of my roomie – my sister – since I have a strict no-headphones policy.

According to the official Shelter website, http://www.heretv.com/sheltermovie/the Writer and Director, Jonah Markowitz, in an interview, stated he wanted to focus not on their being Gay, but on the relationship itself – a simple romance – beginning a new relationship, while battling the possibility that it may not work out after all, the responsibilities that come with them and the feeling of bliss when lying next to a loved one, as the world seems to fade away and life is beautiful again.