An Englishman in New York is a charming and honest look at the life of Britain's most famous homosexual in his later years, in which he moves (as the title suggests), to New York City.
The film, written by Brian Fillis, takes up where
The Naked Civil Servant left off. John Hurt returns to portray the legendary Denis Charles Pratt aka Quentin Crisp (more than 30 years on from when he first played Crisp), through the years where he famously lived as a "resident alien" in New York City.
The always out-spoken Crisp was immediately embraced by New Yorkers and was regularly invited to share his wit and wisdom in a series of one-man shows. He had the New York media in his thrall until he publicly dismissed the rising hysteria surrounding AIDS to be, "a fad, nothing more". As a result, it was no longer the boorish straights who would accost him in the streets as they had once done in Britain, but aggrieved gays too.
It's a really interesting look in to the life of a man whose unashamed homosexuality in the 1930s (a time when it was illegal) transformed him into a gay icon but whose inappropriate responses to AIDS in the '80s found him at the centre of queer-on-queer prejudice.
Crisp's ability to always provide a sound-bite is compounded by his determination to never take back what he has said and as such he is incredibly fascinating - it's also no wonder he was so often in demand by the media.
Despite his refusal to recant such controversial statements, "It is my policy never to lie, never to defend", we do gradually see him take other avenues to makes amends. However, it is perhaps in Crisp's frankness, arrogance and honesty that is most interesting.
His independence and unpredictability and of course his style, even in old age, is impressive to say the very least and John Hurt is perfect as Crisp.
An Englishman in New York screens at the Melbourne International Film Festival tomorrow (Tuesday, July 28) at 7pm at the Kino. Hit the MIFF website for more information.