Bedrooms and Hallways
Encyclopedia
Bedrooms and Hallways is a 1998 comedy-drama film about bisexuality
or the fluidity of sexuality. It was written by Robert Farrar
and directed by Rose Troche
, starring Kevin McKidd
, James Purefoy
, Tom Hollander
, Julie Graham
, Simon Callow
and Hugo Weaving
.
), an openly
gay
man celebrating his 30th birthday, arrives home and is very unhappy to find a surprise-party organised by his roommates
Darren (Tom Hollander
) and Angie (Julie Graham
) in full swing. Leo has a complicated personal history with some of the guests and hides in his bedroom, feeling grumpy and old. The movie then goes into an extended flashback which explains this history.
It turns out that his work colleague had encouraged Leo to attend his weekly men's group run by New Age type goofball Keith (Simon Callow
) whose wife is Sybil (Harriet Walter
). There, Leo meets hunky Irishman Brendan (James Purefoy
) whom he develops a crush on, which he reluctantly reveals to the group. However Brendan is straight and lives with his ex-girlfriend Sally (Jennifer Ehle
) who is later revealed to be Leo's high school sweetheart. A series of 'Iron John
' group exercises leads Brendan and Leo to develop a friendship. As they bond, it becomes clear that Brendan's curiosity towards Leo starts to grow in a sexual escalade. In the men's group, one of the other groupsmen become very jealous of Leo's "friendship" with Brendan and that he does not have that with Leo. Brendan fights with the lad over Leo. The friendship is soon to become more, as Brendan appears unexpectedly late one night at Leo's door and sleeps with him; after which they become something of a couple, to the consternation of one man in their men's group, though it encourages another, Terry (Con O'Neill
), to explore his sexuality.
Meanwhile, flamboyant Darren has met real estate agent Jeremy (Hugo Weaving
), who gets a kick out of having sex in houses for sale he has been given the keys to. However, he is not interested into "couply" things, despite Darren's attempts. Eventually this leads to them having sex with handcuffs and blindfolds in the bedroom of the house which Sally has on the market, during which she unexpectedly returns home. Jeremy abandons Darren, who dumps him. Leo gets close once more with Sally, and ends up kissing her. Feeling guilty, he leaves in a panic, and ends up telling Brendan what happened, who goes ballistic as he still has feelings for Sally. Leo finds himself in a quandary, and decides to confess to Sally that he is the one who is seeing Brendan (Sally had previously believed it was Leo's roommate Angie). He inadvertently does so while Brendan is there too, and leaves Brendan to face Sally.
The film then returns to the party, where Brendan and Terry get into an argument over Leo and take it outside, where Brendan punches Terry on the nose, who crumples. Brendan asks him to go with him for a drink (the same tactic he had employed with Leo). Thus, Brendan starts dating; Leo's work colleague and Angie get together; Jeremy and Darren make up; and Leo sleeps with Sally.
, Anna Karenina (2000) on PBS
, Nicholas Nickleby
, De-Lovely
, HBO's mini-series, Rome
, and ABC's Grey's Anatomy
. Purefoy, too, received starring roles in Mansfield Park (1999), Resident Evil
(2002), Vanity Fair
(2004) and as Marc Antony
in Rome
.
Hugo Weaving had already become well known after his role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
in 1994 and Babe
in 1995 (as Rex the Sheepdog). The year after Bedrooms and Hallways debuted, he became even better known through significant roles in The Matrix
movies and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, some of the top-grossing film-series of all time.
Of the male leads in Bedrooms and Hallways, Hollander has had the least success despite being acknowledged as a superb character actor. However, with his appearances in Gosford Park
and Pride and Prejudice (2005), he has received some notice from Hollywood. He has also starred with long-time friend Bill Nighy
in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
or the fluidity of sexuality. It was written by Robert Farrar
Robert Farrar
-External links:*...
and directed by Rose Troche
Rose Troche
Rose Troche is a film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and attended film school, earning a degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago...
, starring Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
, James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
, Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
, Julie Graham
Julie Graham
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
, Simon Callow
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
and Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
.
Plot
The film opens as Leo (Kevin McKiddKevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
), an openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man celebrating his 30th birthday, arrives home and is very unhappy to find a surprise-party organised by his roommates
Share House
is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Ichirō Kita.-Cast:* Kazuko Yoshiyuki* Megumi Saeki* Miyoko Asada* Hana Kino* Tetsuya Makita...
Darren (Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
) and Angie (Julie Graham
Julie Graham
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
) in full swing. Leo has a complicated personal history with some of the guests and hides in his bedroom, feeling grumpy and old. The movie then goes into an extended flashback which explains this history.
It turns out that his work colleague had encouraged Leo to attend his weekly men's group run by New Age type goofball Keith (Simon Callow
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
) whose wife is Sybil (Harriet Walter
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
). There, Leo meets hunky Irishman Brendan (James Purefoy
James Purefoy
James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor best known for portraying Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome.-Early life and work:...
) whom he develops a crush on, which he reluctantly reveals to the group. However Brendan is straight and lives with his ex-girlfriend Sally (Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Ehle is an American actress of stage and screen. She is known for her BAFTA winning role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice.-Early life:...
) who is later revealed to be Leo's high school sweetheart. A series of 'Iron John
Iron John: A Book About Men
Iron John: A Book About Men is a book by American poet Robert Bly published in 1990 by Addison-Wesley.It analyzes Iron John, a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, in Joseph Campbell fashion, to find lessons especially meaningful to men...
' group exercises leads Brendan and Leo to develop a friendship. As they bond, it becomes clear that Brendan's curiosity towards Leo starts to grow in a sexual escalade. In the men's group, one of the other groupsmen become very jealous of Leo's "friendship" with Brendan and that he does not have that with Leo. Brendan fights with the lad over Leo. The friendship is soon to become more, as Brendan appears unexpectedly late one night at Leo's door and sleeps with him; after which they become something of a couple, to the consternation of one man in their men's group, though it encourages another, Terry (Con O'Neill
Con O'Neill (actor)
Robert "Con" O'Neill is a British actor. He began his acting career at Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre....
), to explore his sexuality.
Meanwhile, flamboyant Darren has met real estate agent Jeremy (Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
), who gets a kick out of having sex in houses for sale he has been given the keys to. However, he is not interested into "couply" things, despite Darren's attempts. Eventually this leads to them having sex with handcuffs and blindfolds in the bedroom of the house which Sally has on the market, during which she unexpectedly returns home. Jeremy abandons Darren, who dumps him. Leo gets close once more with Sally, and ends up kissing her. Feeling guilty, he leaves in a panic, and ends up telling Brendan what happened, who goes ballistic as he still has feelings for Sally. Leo finds himself in a quandary, and decides to confess to Sally that he is the one who is seeing Brendan (Sally had previously believed it was Leo's roommate Angie). He inadvertently does so while Brendan is there too, and leaves Brendan to face Sally.
The film then returns to the party, where Brendan and Terry get into an argument over Leo and take it outside, where Brendan punches Terry on the nose, who crumples. Brendan asks him to go with him for a drink (the same tactic he had employed with Leo). Thus, Brendan starts dating; Leo's work colleague and Angie get together; Jeremy and Darren make up; and Leo sleeps with Sally.
Cast
The film is notable for bringing together a number of actors on the cusp of breaking out into high-profile careers. McKidd became a leading man in films such as Topsy-TurvyTopsy-Turvy
Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 musical drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert...
, Anna Karenina (2000) on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, Nicholas Nickleby
Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film)
Nicholas Nickleby is a 2002 comedy-drama film written and directed by Douglas McGrath. The screenplay is based on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, which originally was published in serial form between March 1838 and September 1839.-Plot:In a prologue we are...
, De-Lovely
De-Lovely
De-Lovely is a 2004 musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with Linda Lee Thomas until his death...
, HBO's mini-series, Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
, and ABC's Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. Purefoy, too, received starring roles in Mansfield Park (1999), Resident Evil
Resident Evil (film)
Resident Evil is a British-German 2002 horror film written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, and James Purefoy...
(2002), Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (2004 film)
Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
(2004) and as Marc Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
in Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
.
Hugo Weaving had already become well known after his role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
in 1994 and Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
in 1995 (as Rex the Sheepdog). The year after Bedrooms and Hallways debuted, he became even better known through significant roles in The Matrix
The Matrix series
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
movies and The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, some of the top-grossing film-series of all time.
Of the male leads in Bedrooms and Hallways, Hollander has had the least success despite being acknowledged as a superb character actor. However, with his appearances in Gosford Park
Gosford Park
Gosford Park is a 2001 British-American mystery comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Alan Bates, and Michael Gambon...
and Pride and Prejudice (2005), he has received some notice from Hollywood. He has also starred with long-time friend Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.