
While modest in means,
Bedrooms and Hallways is a terribly clever comedy of manners conspiring to blur the lines of sexual orientation. Director Rose Troche (
Go Fish) runs with Robert Farrar's inventive reworking of romantic comedy twists and ends up with a surprisingly effective balance of humor and honesty. Kevin McKidd plays Leo, whose Robert Bly-esque "men's group"-- of which he is ostensibly the only gay member-- slowly pulls him into a couple of interlocking romantic triangles. To the film's credit, the characters never find safe footing, constantly shoved up against their greatest fears: gay falling for heterosexual, heterosexual falling for gay, available falling for unavailable. A sharp supporting cast surrounds McKidd's able center, including James Purefoy as the object of his affection, Hugo Weaving (villain of
The Matrix) as a randy real estate agent, and Simon Callow as the demented leader of the men's group. Troche manages a slyly amusing and touching take on these age-old dilemmas.