By Jarrett Churchill
Imagine crossing paths with the perfect sexual partner at the perfect time, and having all your sexual desires fulfilled. Imagine it happening to ten people twice, forming a complete circle of lust. And imagine it all happening in the playground of urban life. That is the premise for Eclipse, the feature film debut from Toronto film maker Jeremy Podeswa. Five years in the making, Eclipse, is the tale of ten people who form an intricate circle of lust and passion on the eve of a solar eclipse.
The setting is Toronto in the heat of summer as scientists, tourists and sky junkies infect the city to witness a total eclipse of the sun. The summer heat and the mystique of the approaching eclipse are blamed for the intimate liaisons between the ten main characters. First, we are introduced to Henry (Von Flores) a street hustler who is picked up by Brian (John Gilbert) a middle-aged suburban businessman. Their relationship is short—Brian then returns home to seduce his French-Canadian housekeeper and the web grows.
The acting in Eclipse is dark, yet funny and on-target. Especially strong are the performances of Earl Pastko (Michael), Michael is sexually selfish and sophisticated, yet vulnerable and afraid. Kirsten Johnson (Carlotta) paints a portrait of lost youth, her zeal and eccentric behaviour making her complex and fun to watch.
The transitional love scenes are filmed in black and white, but the film was washed out to create a blue & brown picture. Between each scene we are drawn closer and closer to the eclipse by the camera work of Angelo (Matthew Ferguson), a teenage boy making a video-documentary for a school project. Angelo later becomes one of the characters in the spiral of intimacy. There are two intertwined stories brought together by Angelo: the city of Toronto in a frenzy as the eclipse approaches; and the brief, bizarre relationships that the eclipse seems to breed. The eclipse itself serves as a metaphor for all the secrets, deceptions and self-delusions perpetrated by the characters in the film. It also, ironically, cools the sexual tension until we realize each character is ultimately alone.
Eye-catching camera work, witty dialogue, well-defined characters, sharp style and structure make Podeswa’s Eclipse a real work of art.
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