Together Alone (film)

{{About|the 1991 film by P.J. Castellaneta|other uses|Together Alone (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Together Alone

| image = TogetherAloneFilm.jpg

| caption =

| director = P. J. Castellaneta

| producer = P. J. Castellaneta

| writer = P. J. Castellaneta

| narrator =

| starring = Terry Curry
Todd Stites

| music = Wayne Alabardo

| cinematography = David Dechant

| editing = P. J. Castellaneta
Maria Lee

| distributor = Frameline

| released = {{Film date|1991|09|13|Toronto Festival of Festivals|1992|09|24|U.S.}}

| runtime = 87 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $7,000

| gross = $110,505 (US)

}}

Together Alone is a 1991 drama film written and directed by P. J. Castellaneta and starring Terry Curry and Todd Stites.

Plot

Bryan meets a man called Bill in a bar. They go back to Bryan's home and have unprotected sex. Later, they wake up and talk. Bryan discovers that Bill's real name is Brian, and that he is bisexual. They spend hours talking, covering topics including AIDS, sexuality, feminism, role-play and Emily Dickinson.{{Citation

| last = Canby

| first = Vincent

| author-link = Vincent Canby

| title = Review/Film; Reflections on and of Gay Concerns

| newspaper = New York Times

| date = 1992-09-23

| url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6D91339F930A1575AC0A964958260

| accessdate =2008-03-05 }}

Cast

Terry Curry as Brian
Todd Stites as Bryan

Production

P. J. Castellaneta directed, wrote, produced, edited and even catered Together Alone.{{Citation

| last = Baumgarten

| first = Marjorie

| title = Together Alone

| newspaper = The Austin Chronicle

| date = 2008-03-05

| url =http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid%3A139274 }}

It was made on a budget of $7,000 and shot on 16mm black-and-white film. It was filmed over weekends and evenings in Castellaneta's own apartment.{{cite web

| last = Krach

| first = Aaron

| authorlink = Aaron Krach

| title = P.J. Castellaneta Says, "Relax. . . It's Just Sex"

| publisher = indieWIRE

| url = http://www.indiewire.com/people/int_Castellaneta_PJ_990308.html

| accessdate =2008-03-05

| archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20030617145211/http://www.indiewire.com/people/int_Castellaneta_PJ_990308.html

| archivedate =2003-06-17}}

Reception

In 1991, the film won the audience award at the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. The following year it won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film and the Best Art House Film award at the Berlin International Film Festival{{Citation

| last = Rockwell

| first = John

| author-link = John Rockwell

| title = 'Grand Canyon' Wins The First Prize At Berlin Festival

| newspaper = New York Times

| date = 1992-02-25

| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D6123CF936A15751C0A964958260

| accessdate=2008-03-05}}

and the award for Best Feature Film at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Writing for The Austin Chronicle, Marjorie Barmgauten called the film "forthright and artistically accomplished". In his book Bisexual Characters in Film, Wayne M. Bryant said that with the character of Brian, Castellaneta "manages to reinforce every existing negative stereotype about bisexual men".{{Citation

| last = Bryant

| first = Wayne M.

| title = Bisexual Characters in Film: From Anaïs to Zee

| publisher = Haworth Press

| year = 1997

| pages = 76

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pp3uzTxk4fwC

| isbn =0-7890-0142-X }}