Q (Jared Wayne Gladly) and Amari (David J. Cork) are in a committed relationship and live together in a small apartment in New York City. On the day of Amari’s 30th Birthday, Q decides to propose and is taken aback when Amari doesn’t respond with an immediate ‘yes’. With plenty of other plans for the day, Q tries to tell himself that Amari just needs time to get over the shock, completely oblivious to the fact that his partner is entering into a crisis. Tensions rise when the two men are trapped in their apartment for the day when a mandatory lockdown is announced following a suspected terrorist attack in Times Square. Over the course of 24 hours, the men take a deep look at their relationship and share some long-time-coming home truths.
“Nana’s Boys” is a film from writer and director Ashton Pina and it’s an exploration of love between two black men who were both brought up by their Nanas alone. Initially the couple appears to be perfect but it doesn’t take very long for the cracks to show. Q is a high-flying lawyer who is on the verge of a very successful career while Amari feels like his life is falling apart after losing his job. Fearing that his life is passing him by and lacking purpose, Amari has tried hard to keep his feelings from Q but all of them flow out when the two men are stuck together for the day.
What Pina manages to capture in his film is how two people can spend their lives together without ever being on the same page. Just because people are in a relationship, and in love, it doesn’t mean that they understand the importance of clear communication. It’s hard to tell if Q is blindsided by Amari’s revelations or if he’s simply ignored all of the warning signs to convince himself that their relationship isn’t heading into the danger zone. At times, the conversations Q and Amari have get very personal and the intimate setting of the film makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a private conversation.
As the two men open up about their relationship, they discuss old memories and it soon becomes clear that they haven’t had the same experience in the relationship. Warning signs have been missed or ignored, unhappiness has been suppressed in the hope things will improve and vitally the two men have been unable to tell each other what they need. Any hope of them working their issues out feel dashed far too early so the film’s conclusion feels foregone mere minutes into the film.
Where the film isn’t quite as successful is really digging into the issues between the two men. Beyond hitting a few broad strokes and expected beats, the script never allows either character to really reveal themselves to the audience. Perhaps this is hindered by the two lead performances who are both fine but not exceptional. Their chemistry is lacking, which does make the inevitable fallout easier to accept, but the audience is left wondering how two such different people ever ended up together in the first place.
“Nana’s Boys” has good intentions and it provides representation for black gay men, who are often overlooked in gay cinema. That being said, the film would work far better as a play where it could have more time to breathe and find its feet. In this short 78 minute format, the film doesn’t dig nearly deep enough into Q and Amari, meaning that it’s hard for the audience to care what happens between them.
Cast: David J. Cork, Jared Wayne Gladly Director: Ashton Pina Writer: Ashton Pina Certificate: Unrated Duration: 78 mins Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures Release date: 7th February 2022
