It's In the Water
Encyclopedia
It's in the Water is a 1997
independent film
. Written and directed by Kelli Herd, the film touches on themes of homosexuality
, AIDS
, coming out
and small-town prejudice. The film stars Keri Jo Chapman as Alex, Teresa Garrett as Grace, Derrick Sanders as Mark, Timothy Vahle as Tomas, Nancy Chartier as Sloan and John Hallum as Spencer.
r with a penchant for interesting shoes. Her Junior League chapter's annual project is to volunteer at Hope House, an AIDS
hospice that recently opened in her home town of Azalea Springs, Texas
. Alex and her League friends, including her friend Sloan, tour Hope House. Alex runs into her best friend Spencer, whose lover Bruce is a resident, and Grace, a friend from high school who had recently moved back to Azalea Springs to work at Hope House as a nurse.
That night at the town's annual Azalea Ball, a drunken Spencer tells a society matron that his homosexuality was caused by drinking the local water. An equally drunken Sloan overhears and spreads the story. A panic ensues, with the local newspaper printing the story and commissioning testing of the water supply. Mark, the son of the publisher, objects to his father, but because Mark is himself struggling with his homosexuality and attending meetings of an ex-gay group at the local church, he's limited in what he can do to mitigate the story and the resultant damage. The leader of the ex-gay group, Brother Daniel, announces plans to protest for the closing of Hope House.
Alex and Grace renew their friendship and Grace comes out as a lesbian
to her. Grace returned to Azalea Springs because her husband found out about an affair she was having with another woman and is now in prison for assaulting Grace.
At an ex-gay meeting, Mark meets Tomas, a painter. Mark hires Tomas to re-paint his dining room.
The Junior League decides not to continue volunteering at Hope House. Alex, who's resigned from the League, goes to work full time at the hospice over her husband Robert's objections.
Alex develops some curiosity about her possible lesbianism and rents a number of classic lesbian-themed films: Desert Hearts
; Lianna
; Personal Best; Heavenly Creatures
; Bar Girls
; Claire of the Moon
; The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
; an unnamed, presumably pornographic
video; and, inexplicably, The Godfather, Part III.
At Hope House, Alex gives in to her growing attraction to Grace and they kiss passionately in a supply room. Sloan catches them and spreads the story all over town. Reaction is immediate and hostile, with Alex suffering indignities great and small, everything from the breakup of her marriage to the closing of her credit account at the local fried pie shop.
After Tomas paints Mark's dining room, they go out on a dinner date, where Mark learns that Tomas stumbled into the ex-gay meeting by mistake. After dinner they go to Tomas's studio and Tomas shows Mark his paintings. They make love. Following this, Mark gains the courage to break up with the woman he's been dating as a "beard" and to come out to his father. He demands that his father drop the story on the water supply (testing proves that the water is completely ordinary) and stop the negative coverage of Hope House.
Mark and Tomas and Alex and Grace go out dancing at a big-city gay club, where they see Ray Ray, the son of Alex's family housekeeper, performing as a drag queen
called Obsession. Ray Ray leads Mark and Tomas to a leather bar where they catch ex-gay leader Brother Daniel in full leather gear (Mark has a photo published in the paper to discredit Brother Daniel's anti-Hope House protests). Meanwhile, Alex and Grace go to a hotel room where they make love for the first time.
Back in Azalea Springs, Spencer's lover Bruce dies of AIDS-related complications. At his funeral, Alex's father comforts her and her mother, while still upset over Alex's lesbianism, shows that she still loves her daughter (by insulting her shoes, something she's done repeatedly through the film).
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
. Written and directed by Kelli Herd, the film touches on themes of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, coming out
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....
and small-town prejudice. The film stars Keri Jo Chapman as Alex, Teresa Garrett as Grace, Derrick Sanders as Mark, Timothy Vahle as Tomas, Nancy Chartier as Sloan and John Hallum as Spencer.
Plot summary
Alex is a married Junior LeagueJunior League
The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. is a non-profit organization of 292 Junior Leagues in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States. Junior Leagues are educational and charitable women's organizations aimed at improving their communities through volunteerism and...
r with a penchant for interesting shoes. Her Junior League chapter's annual project is to volunteer at Hope House, an AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
hospice that recently opened in her home town of Azalea Springs, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Alex and her League friends, including her friend Sloan, tour Hope House. Alex runs into her best friend Spencer, whose lover Bruce is a resident, and Grace, a friend from high school who had recently moved back to Azalea Springs to work at Hope House as a nurse.
That night at the town's annual Azalea Ball, a drunken Spencer tells a society matron that his homosexuality was caused by drinking the local water. An equally drunken Sloan overhears and spreads the story. A panic ensues, with the local newspaper printing the story and commissioning testing of the water supply. Mark, the son of the publisher, objects to his father, but because Mark is himself struggling with his homosexuality and attending meetings of an ex-gay group at the local church, he's limited in what he can do to mitigate the story and the resultant damage. The leader of the ex-gay group, Brother Daniel, announces plans to protest for the closing of Hope House.
Alex and Grace renew their friendship and Grace comes out as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
to her. Grace returned to Azalea Springs because her husband found out about an affair she was having with another woman and is now in prison for assaulting Grace.
At an ex-gay meeting, Mark meets Tomas, a painter. Mark hires Tomas to re-paint his dining room.
The Junior League decides not to continue volunteering at Hope House. Alex, who's resigned from the League, goes to work full time at the hospice over her husband Robert's objections.
Alex develops some curiosity about her possible lesbianism and rents a number of classic lesbian-themed films: Desert Hearts
Desert Hearts
Desert Hearts is a 1985 lesbian-themed romantic drama film loosely based on the Jane Rule novel Desert of the Heart. Directed by Donna Deitch, the film stars Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau with a supporting performance by Audra Lindley....
; Lianna
Lianna
Lianna is a drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The movie features Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries, among others.-Plot:...
; Personal Best; Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
; Bar Girls
Bar Girls
Bar Girls is a lesbian-themed romantic comedy film written by Lauran Hoffman, adapted by Hoffman from her stage play of the same name for the screen in 1994. Starring Nancy Allison Wolfe, Liza D'Agostino, Camila Griggs and Michael Harris and directed by Marita Giovanni, the play and film follow the...
; Claire of the Moon
Claire of the Moon
Claire of the Moon is a 1992 lesbian-themed rhetoric drama film. The film stars Trisha Todd and Karen Trumbo.-Plot summary:Claire of the Moon is set in the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest. Claire Jabrowski , a famous heterosexual author, decides to attend a retreat for all-female writers. Claire's...
; The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love is a 1995 film, written and directed by Maria Maggenti, of the story of two very different high school girls who fall in love. It generated good notices and publicity at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. It also launched the film careers of Laurel...
; an unnamed, presumably pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
video; and, inexplicably, The Godfather, Part III.
At Hope House, Alex gives in to her growing attraction to Grace and they kiss passionately in a supply room. Sloan catches them and spreads the story all over town. Reaction is immediate and hostile, with Alex suffering indignities great and small, everything from the breakup of her marriage to the closing of her credit account at the local fried pie shop.
After Tomas paints Mark's dining room, they go out on a dinner date, where Mark learns that Tomas stumbled into the ex-gay meeting by mistake. After dinner they go to Tomas's studio and Tomas shows Mark his paintings. They make love. Following this, Mark gains the courage to break up with the woman he's been dating as a "beard" and to come out to his father. He demands that his father drop the story on the water supply (testing proves that the water is completely ordinary) and stop the negative coverage of Hope House.
Mark and Tomas and Alex and Grace go out dancing at a big-city gay club, where they see Ray Ray, the son of Alex's family housekeeper, performing as a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
called Obsession. Ray Ray leads Mark and Tomas to a leather bar where they catch ex-gay leader Brother Daniel in full leather gear (Mark has a photo published in the paper to discredit Brother Daniel's anti-Hope House protests). Meanwhile, Alex and Grace go to a hotel room where they make love for the first time.
Back in Azalea Springs, Spencer's lover Bruce dies of AIDS-related complications. At his funeral, Alex's father comforts her and her mother, while still upset over Alex's lesbianism, shows that she still loves her daughter (by insulting her shoes, something she's done repeatedly through the film).