Alex and the Handyman

A boy, his mother and two men. Seductive story for its nuances. For the need of friendship, for the crumps of "Dangerous Liaisons", for the lovely performance of the lead young actor, for the portrait of a case more than plausible. Nothing impressive. But correct. The kind of short film giving many flavors. In inspired manner.

"Alex and the Handyman" is a charming short film, obviously revolving around young Alex. It could be tricky if the actor were not up to the challenge but thankfully Keaton Nigel Cooke, in the role, is wonderful. He's got most of the film's dialogue, in fact, and he delivers it perfectly. He is hysterical when he talks about his favourite film "First Wives Club". Nicholas Colia wrote a fine film: Alex is full of surprises and we keep wondering where he will go next, in his quest for friendship or love. I wish we could revisit Alex every 2 or 3 years, to see what he is up to. A bit like Truffaut's Antoine Doinel. Bottom line: great acting, excellent directing, wonderful writing. I also want to congratulate Mike von der Nahmer for this whimsical score. It fits perfectly with the tone of the film.

Just stumbled on this on YouTube. First saw this when it was making the Short's festivals in 2017. It quickly became one of my favorite Shorts of all time, right next to "the Fairy Who Did Not Want to be a Fairy any More".

Alex, having no life, an absent father and mother, has a strong desire to have a male friend. Sweet, sad and in many ways something I could identify with from my childhood 60 years ago. Though I was never as ambitious and as clever as Alex. I wonder what Alex could have become with a strong role model. I wonder how different many of us young gay boys from the 50's, 60's, 70s would be with supportive role models. Great film. One that would be good to introduced over and over again. Thank you to the creators and actors!