
HENRY GAMBLE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY takes place over the course of 24 hours, at the 17th birthday pool party of preacher's kid Henry Gamble. As Henry treads through various sexual possibilities, seeking to come into his own, so too do the adults and teenagers of the party, all struggling to navigate the public and private, and their longing, despite themselves and their faith, for earthly love.... (Full plot summary below)
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HENRY GAMBLE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY takes place over the course of 24 hours, at the 17th birthday pool party of preacher's kid Henry Gamble. As Henry treads through various sexual possibilities, seeking to come into his own, so too do the adults and teenagers of the party, all struggling to navigate the public and private, and their longing, despite themselves and their faith, for earthly love.
Leave your thoughts about Henry Gamble's Birthday Party.
| AV ClubVadim RizovCone-himself a preacher's son whose features generally explore Christian milieus-doesn't condescend while tracing the moment when faith becomes an obstacle to self-realization. |
| CinemaywardJoel Mayward...Stephen Cone has created a plethora of engaging and authentic characters, and much of the film rings true. |
| The Film StageAmanda WaltzAn enjoyable, but unconvincing look at religious hypocrisy and Christianity's struggle to accept changing social norms. |
| User ReviewMichael NAn Altman-esque pool party. I could watch it forever. |
| User ReviewColin SHenry Gamble's Birthday Party is so brilliant in it's complex simplicity, which may sound like a paradox, but in reality are the only words I can describe this film as, besides great. Cone balances so many characters and their subplots so perfectly. no matter how small or large, each storyline is interwoven into one another, but is never intrusive or dull. Each one filled with great accuracy and realism, thanks to the great acting, writing, and directing this film has going for it. These scenes feel ripped directly out of life. The film nails the evangelical suburban birthday party feeling perfectly, along with the sexual, emotional, and physical confusion that comes with it. Henry Gamble's Birthday Party is an honest and amazing look at the simple events in life that we don't look at close enough. |
| User ReviewFacebook UAn insightful coming of age story with a few twists, namely, the act of acknowledging oneself as gay in a household headed by an evangelical preacher. Despite a slight tendency toward monodimensional character development, the film follows through on its objective nicely, with lots of subtle wit, a degree of suspense and fine performances by an excellent ensemble cast. A well-received offering at this year's Chicago International Film Festival. |
| User ReviewJoel WA strong portrayal of a teenage boy trying to resolve his sexual identity. The acting is good and the direction superb. |
| User ReviewGregory MAmong the moral prejudices of an incongruous society and the desires of sexual awakening, this film is a masterful experience that exposes the intolerance as the biggest problem of all, building in unique way a gallery of great characters, by the hand of an excellent soundtrack over its not so good visual quality. |
| User ReviewLee MI was impressed by the performances of the cast especially Cole Doman as Henry Gamble. The characters change or are revealed to be completely different people in the second half, and that is worth sticking around for. Wished it had been more daring but I guess it was going for a general audience. On Netflix. |
| User ReviewRandy HI almost don't know how to characterize this movie. It's so unusual, in none of the usual ways. It's kind of an exploration of modern-day Christianity, but it's not treacly. There are non-believers represented, as well. I felt that many views were treated respectfully, for the most part. One might argue that a point of view is proffered toward the very end, but whatever is put forth is done so gently And everyone has secrets, Not in an exaggerated way, but how normal, everyday people have secrets. There are a couple of scenes that almost seem to be from a different film, but somehow the film works better than it has any right to. It's almost like a low-key Christian film got together with an independent film and this is the product of the two. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it. |