Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Cicada is a gay romantic drama about a hypochondriac who falls in love with a closeted gay man.
Ben (Matthew Fifer) is a promiscuous bisexual man living in Brooklyn, NY. One day while browsing through a bookstore, he meets Sam (Sheldon D. Brown). But unlike most of the people Ben picks up, Sam doesn’t want to hop in bed, so they talk and get to know each other.
As Ben and Sam grow close, Sam opens up about his fears of living as an openly gay black man, and Ben is forced to confront an event from his past.
Some Thoughts:
Cicada is a slow paced and thoughtful film about self-discovery that plays like a romance. It’s a fresh take on romance and how it can be the catalyst for healing past trauma.
Although the story is very simple, directors Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare are smart enough to keep it that way. The film quietly unfolds naturally, building interest with each new reveal. It uses thought provoking images of Ben as a child to underscore that something happened in his past to make him the way he is today. The acting all around is decent, especially from Fifer and Brown.
The film also delves into Sam’s identity as a black gay man, while showing how his self-identity is linked to an event that keeps him in the closet. This first shows up as PTSD, then slowly comes to light as he and Ben begin to trust each other.
Cicada is the type of independent film that shows what can be done when a group of talented people come together to make a movie. This feels like a very personal film, especially knowing that Fifer and Brown not only star in Cicada, but also wrote the script.
The Final Verdict:
Cicada is a beautiful, sexy, and engrossing study of two men struggling with the aftermath of living through traumatic events. The end is powerful and will leave some people wanting more.
