Dream Boy (film)
Encyclopedia
Dream Boy is a 2008 gay-themed romantic
drama film
written and directed by James Bolton and based on Jim Grimsley
's 1995 novel of the same name
about two gay teenagers who fall in love in the rural South during the 1970s.
) moves to a small Southern town with his parents (Thomas Jay Ryan
and Diana Scarwid
) and starts to befriend the older boy next door, Roy (Maximillian Roeg), fellow high school student and bus driver, whom is in relationship with Evelyn (Rooney Mara). Nathan and Roy start to develop their relationship by helping each other with school work at Nathan's house. While Roy is teaching Nathan how to do an algebra problem, Nathan touches his hand. Roy pulls away at first, but then takes hold of Nathan's hand. After they finish their work, the boys go for a walk in the woods, finding an old cemetery, where they stop and start kissing. They undress down to everything but socks and underwear, and lay in an embrace together. The relationship between Nathan and his father is revealed to be a little strange and full of tension. One morning Roy pulls the bus into a part in the woods and they kiss and Nathan palms Roy. Roy asks if Nathan has ever done this with anyone before, and he promises he never has. Roy takes Nathan swimming with Burke and Randy, but Nathan admits he can't swim. While watching Roy, Burke threatens to throw him in the water, but Roy stops him. While Roy is driving them home, he pulls onto the side of the rode and they start kissing. When Nathan starts to masturbate them Roy stops him, asking him where he learned to screw like that. Nathan swears no one. When Nathan gets home that night, his father wants to know if he had a good time. Again, the relationship between them seems strange. Nathan is on the brink of tears as he answers his father. He ties a string up to his dresser drawer and bedpost, tucks his pillows under his sheets, and moves to the floor to sleep. In the night he hears a thud and runs from his room, because it was his father sneaking in. We learn that his father has touched him in the past inappropriately. Nathan sleeps outside and doesn't come home. He does for meals but returns to his tree outside after. Roy finds him and offers him a place to sleep in his family's barn. The next morning, Nathan goes home for breakfast and his father catches him, yelling at him to not run from him, but Nathan's mother interrupts and he runs to the school bus. Later, Roy tells Nathan they're going camping with Burke and Randy that weekend, and he says ok. That night, Roy tells ghost stories around the campfire, and in their tent, Nathan gives Roy a blow job, and Roy asks him if he minds when Roy doesn't do those things back to him, and Nathan says he doesn't mind. Hiking through the woods, the boys find an old plantation house. They go inside to investigate, and Nathan hears a voice call his name, resembling his father's. They then find cloth with what looks like to be blood on it, and they smell sulfur (which Nathan says is the smell of the Devil), and the boys see a shadow move up the stairs. Burke takes the flashlight from Roy and goes to investigate with Randy. Roy and Nathan go into a bedroom and talk, and Nathan says he feels as if he'll never leave that house. He hears the voice again and Roy goes to see if the guys are back. Nathan see's his father and closes his eyes tight, when Roy enters the room again. He tells Nathan not to look at whatever he's seeing anymore and kisses him. Roy gets down on his knee's and proceeds to give Nathan a blowjob, when Burke and Randy find them. Roy storms out of the room, and Nathan hears the voice again, and is suddenly knocked unconscious. We see a shadow of a person carrying him up the stairs. In the attic, Burke rapes Nathan, and realizing what he's done, sick at himself, he breaks an arm off a rocking chair and knocks Nathan over the head with it. Blood starts pooling on the floor beneath his head and he leaves Nathan. The boys find him in the morning and Roy tells Randy to go with Burke, whom he doesn't believe at this point. Roy's family goes to Nathan's funeral, and we see Nathan's ghost leaving the plantation house. Nathan's mother leaves his father, and Nathan finds Roy crying in the barn where he once slept. As Roy looks up he see's Nathan and hugs him. Roy is driving the bus and looks in the mirror to an empty seat, but when he looks the second time, Nathan is there smiling at him.
in Germany on February 12, 2008. Its first American screening was on October 24, 2008 at the Chicago International Film Festival
. The film was released on DVD in North America on August 24, 2010.
block gives the film a PG-13 for "thematic elements involving sexuality, and language".
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by James Bolton and based on Jim Grimsley
Jim Grimsley
-Biography:Born to a troubled rural family in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Grimsley said of his childhood that "for us in the South, the family is a field where craziness grows like weeds"....
's 1995 novel of the same name
Dream Boy
Dream Boy is a 1995 novel by Jim Grimsley.-Plot summary:Nathan is an intelligent but shy, adolescent boy, who wants to escape from his abusive and violent father and fantasizes about a relationship with Roy, the boy who lives next door. Roy is a senior at the same high school as Nathan, and he...
about two gay teenagers who fall in love in the rural South during the 1970s.
Plot
15-year-old Nathan Davies (Stephan BenderStephan Bender
Stephan Bender is an American actor who is currently best known for his portrayal of a young Clark Kent in Superman Returns. His most recent film is Dream Boy written and directed by James Bolton. It recently won the OUTFEST award for best screen writing and was adapted from the novel of the same...
) moves to a small Southern town with his parents (Thomas Jay Ryan
Thomas Jay Ryan
Thomas Jay Ryan is a veteran stage actor who also starred in the 1997 film Henry Fool.Ryan attended Carnegie Mellon University and has worked in such prestigious theaters as the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven...
and Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
) and starts to befriend the older boy next door, Roy (Maximillian Roeg), fellow high school student and bus driver, whom is in relationship with Evelyn (Rooney Mara). Nathan and Roy start to develop their relationship by helping each other with school work at Nathan's house. While Roy is teaching Nathan how to do an algebra problem, Nathan touches his hand. Roy pulls away at first, but then takes hold of Nathan's hand. After they finish their work, the boys go for a walk in the woods, finding an old cemetery, where they stop and start kissing. They undress down to everything but socks and underwear, and lay in an embrace together. The relationship between Nathan and his father is revealed to be a little strange and full of tension. One morning Roy pulls the bus into a part in the woods and they kiss and Nathan palms Roy. Roy asks if Nathan has ever done this with anyone before, and he promises he never has. Roy takes Nathan swimming with Burke and Randy, but Nathan admits he can't swim. While watching Roy, Burke threatens to throw him in the water, but Roy stops him. While Roy is driving them home, he pulls onto the side of the rode and they start kissing. When Nathan starts to masturbate them Roy stops him, asking him where he learned to screw like that. Nathan swears no one. When Nathan gets home that night, his father wants to know if he had a good time. Again, the relationship between them seems strange. Nathan is on the brink of tears as he answers his father. He ties a string up to his dresser drawer and bedpost, tucks his pillows under his sheets, and moves to the floor to sleep. In the night he hears a thud and runs from his room, because it was his father sneaking in. We learn that his father has touched him in the past inappropriately. Nathan sleeps outside and doesn't come home. He does for meals but returns to his tree outside after. Roy finds him and offers him a place to sleep in his family's barn. The next morning, Nathan goes home for breakfast and his father catches him, yelling at him to not run from him, but Nathan's mother interrupts and he runs to the school bus. Later, Roy tells Nathan they're going camping with Burke and Randy that weekend, and he says ok. That night, Roy tells ghost stories around the campfire, and in their tent, Nathan gives Roy a blow job, and Roy asks him if he minds when Roy doesn't do those things back to him, and Nathan says he doesn't mind. Hiking through the woods, the boys find an old plantation house. They go inside to investigate, and Nathan hears a voice call his name, resembling his father's. They then find cloth with what looks like to be blood on it, and they smell sulfur (which Nathan says is the smell of the Devil), and the boys see a shadow move up the stairs. Burke takes the flashlight from Roy and goes to investigate with Randy. Roy and Nathan go into a bedroom and talk, and Nathan says he feels as if he'll never leave that house. He hears the voice again and Roy goes to see if the guys are back. Nathan see's his father and closes his eyes tight, when Roy enters the room again. He tells Nathan not to look at whatever he's seeing anymore and kisses him. Roy gets down on his knee's and proceeds to give Nathan a blowjob, when Burke and Randy find them. Roy storms out of the room, and Nathan hears the voice again, and is suddenly knocked unconscious. We see a shadow of a person carrying him up the stairs. In the attic, Burke rapes Nathan, and realizing what he's done, sick at himself, he breaks an arm off a rocking chair and knocks Nathan over the head with it. Blood starts pooling on the floor beneath his head and he leaves Nathan. The boys find him in the morning and Roy tells Randy to go with Burke, whom he doesn't believe at this point. Roy's family goes to Nathan's funeral, and we see Nathan's ghost leaving the plantation house. Nathan's mother leaves his father, and Nathan finds Roy crying in the barn where he once slept. As Roy looks up he see's Nathan and hugs him. Roy is driving the bus and looks in the mirror to an empty seat, but when he looks the second time, Nathan is there smiling at him.
Cast
- Stephan BenderStephan BenderStephan Bender is an American actor who is currently best known for his portrayal of a young Clark Kent in Superman Returns. His most recent film is Dream Boy written and directed by James Bolton. It recently won the OUTFEST award for best screen writing and was adapted from the novel of the same...
as Nathan Davies - Maximillian Roeg as Roy
- Randy WayneRandy WayneRandy Wayne is an American actor.Wayne was born and raised in Moore, Oklahoma. He appeared on the 2002 season of the British reality show Shipwrecked, which led to guest appearances on the television shows The Closer, Huff, NCIS, Jack & Bobby, and Numb3rs as well as a series regular role as the...
as Burke, one of Roy's best friends - Owen Beckman as Randy, one of Roy's best friends
- Thomas Jay RyanThomas Jay RyanThomas Jay Ryan is a veteran stage actor who also starred in the 1997 film Henry Fool.Ryan attended Carnegie Mellon University and has worked in such prestigious theaters as the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis and the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven...
as Harland Davies, Nathan's abusiveChild abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
father - Diana ScarwidDiana ScarwidDiana Scarwid is an American actress. Scarwid has done work in film, television and theater.-Personal life:Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, and left Georgia at the age of 17, heading to New York to become an actress. She graduated from Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic...
as Vivian Davies, Nathan's mother - Rooney Mara as Evelyn, Roy's girlfriend
- Rickie Lee JonesRickie Lee JonesRickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
as Roy's mother
Release
Dream Boy first screened at the Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
in Germany on February 12, 2008. Its first American screening was on October 24, 2008 at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
. The film was released on DVD in North America on August 24, 2010.
DVD mistake
On the North American DVD release, albeit a given R rating for "sexual content, and some violence including a rape - involving teens", before starting the film, an MPAAMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
block gives the film a PG-13 for "thematic elements involving sexuality, and language".