Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Port Authority is a drama about a troubled young man in New York City falling in love with a transgender woman.
Paul (Fionn Whitehead) arrives in New York City expecting his half-sister to be waiting for him in Port Authority. When she isn’t there, he wanders the city streets, rides the subway and falls asleep. He’s then beaten up and robbed, only to be saved by Lee (McCaul Lombardi), who has a business evicting tenants who are behind on the rent.
Lee takes Paul out of the subway and gets him something to eat while they hang out on the street. While talking to Lee, Paul notices a young woman, Wye (Leyna Bloom), hanging out with a group of effeminate men. Lee makes a few homophobic comments and asks Paul if he’s gay.
Knowing that Paul needs a place to sleep, Lee sets him up in a homeless shelter and asks if he would like to make some money. The next day Lee picks him up along with some other homeless men, and they go to an apartment building. Lee bangs on an apartment door claiming to be immigration. The door opens and they burst in and remove everything from the apartment.
One night while Paul is hanging out alone, he spots Wye and follows her into a club. When he’s asked to leave because he doesn’t belong there, Wye follows him out. They talk, and Paul takes her out for a slice of pizza. Thinking that Paul is coming on to her, Wye tells him that she doesn’t date. Paul insists that he’s not a player because players always lie, despite having told her a mix of truths and lies about himself.
As Wye and Paul begin dating, Wye invites him into her life. She takes him to drag balls and invites him into the apartment she shares with an older gay man she calls “mother” and a group of gay men. Soon tensions mount for Paul when Wye asks to meet his friends and see where he lives.
Some Thoughts:
Because the main character in Port Authority is a white cisgender man, it never truly feels like an LGBT film. And although Wye is very much a part of the story, it doesn’t solely belong to her.
Whitehead brings an honesty to Paul, depicting him as a man accepting what life gives him and not looking at it too closely. And since Paul grew up in foster homes and has been in and out of prison, it’s easy to see how ignoring his surroundings is a survival skill. He’s caught between the need to survive and doing the right thing.
It’s refreshing to see a film that flips the script and makes the straight character ashamed of who he is and the LGBT one proud and unflinching. Wye may not tell Paul that she’s transgender, but she doesn’t hide her lifestyle either. And when Paul is with Wye, his eyes never leave her. He’s enchanted by her.
The connection Paul has with each of the characters is visceral. He’s living in two worlds that can’t meet. He may not like Lee and his motley gang, but he needs them to make money; he wants a life with Wye but can’t be honest with her. And because the film is so well done, it’s filled with tension, high stakes, and honesty.
Although the film does a good job quickly filling in Paul’s backstory, I wanted to know more.
Port Authority is realistic and gritty, which isn’t something often scene in American cinema these days. There are several scenes in Port Authority that are tense.
The Final Verdict:
Port Authority is a tragic romance that’s easy to get lost in. It’s gritty realness, well developed script, and smart directing make this a must-see.
