A Lower Power

2009
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

135

YOUR RATING

Not everyone gets to watch a video of his conception Â— or wants to. Thibodeaux sure doesn't, but such openness is the exasperating norm in the San Francisco Bay Area household of his parents, Hank and Stormy, whose nest Thibodeaux can't wait to leave. But what this young man thinks he wants collides with the hard reality of desire in a gay coming-of-age story where the coming of age isn't about being gay.

When neither the geeky, introverted sanity of his friend Steve nor the advice of torturously heterosexual stud buddy Mas provide an easy answer, Thibodeaux sets off on his own to college, where he hangs with bubbly Emmy and seeks a sexless social life. But Thibodeaux's chastity strategies meet their match in Todd, a cocksure biker and Old English scholar who teaches Thibodeaux the power of passion.

Even as Todd unleashes Thibodeaux's appetites and old friends come back into his life in surprising ways, Thibodeaux's repressive reflexes connect sex to misfortune and humiliation, until his contorted logic drives away his friends and the mythic man of his dreams. Questions of faith and the nature of luck lurk on the edges of Thibodeaux's tunnel vision, leading to a (literally) climactic revelation that his urges aren't nearly as dangerous as denying them.

Propelled by an original score by H.P. Mendoza ("Fruit Fly" and "Colma: The Musical"), A LOWER POWER is the debut feature by San Francisco's Robert O'Geen, from an original screenplay by Tim Bland.

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Thibodeaux, a young gay San Franciscan, yearns to reject his parents' hedonistic ways. But when his emerging sexual desires repeatedly get the better of him, he conjures up twisted, self-rep... Read allThibodeaux, a young gay San Franciscan, yearns to reject his parents' hedonistic ways. But when his emerging sexual desires repeatedly get the better of him, he conjures up twisted, self-repressive rationalizations that threaten to drive away his friends and the hunky, mythic man... Read allThibodeaux, a young gay San Franciscan, yearns to reject his parents' hedonistic ways. But when his emerging sexual desires repeatedly get the better of him, he conjures up twisted, self-repressive rationalizations that threaten to drive away his friends and the hunky, mythic man of his dreams.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

135

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 2:08

A Lower Power

Photos8

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User reviews3

5.4135

Featured reviews

7larapha

How difficult can life be?

A very sensitive film, it deals with the difficulties of coming of age. Besides the main character is gay, this little or nothing influences in his choices, for his parents are very liberal in the matter. The problem here is Thibodeaux (Mattew Lotto), the principal, who wants to find a prince charming and even doesn't accepts when he sees one. I found myself greatly identified by the movie, it has feelings that are very similar to mine, although I can hardly say I had parents even near his one. The performance of Thibodeaux is quite sensitive, That of Steve (Willian McChaell) quite sure, the gentle cock that accepts the difficulties of his partner. Together, they are a pair of dreams. All in all, it's an agreeable film, with little action and tending more to a drama-comedy that entertains, and leave the smelt that good things can come out of little.