Despite its notoriety and constant presence in the news, ex-gay conversion therapy, which sees homosexuality as a mental disorder as well as a sin and treats it using Christian principles either to have the person become straight or at the very least not to act on their same-sex attractions, has rarely been dealt with in films. The consensus among mental health professionals is that the treatment doesn't work and causes more harm than good. It is outlawed in California and two other states. Yet it persists, and the personal ramifications, whether the therapy works or not, would seem ideal emotional fodder for a film. Fair Haven, a new DVD just released by Breaking Glass Pictures, has taken up the challenge, and in its quiet tone has succeeded in showing both the adverse effects of this therapy and its ultimate failure.
James (Michael Grant) is a 19-year-old classical pianist returning home to Fair Haven, an apple farm in Vermont, after a stay at a Christian gay conversion therapy treatment center headed by Dr. Gallagher (Gregory Harrison). During his time away, his mother has died. He is picked up at the bus station by his gruff, aloof father Richard (Tom Wopat). As he enters the car he exclaims, "I'm better now. I think it helped." James is eager to go away to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. But Richard informs him that the money in his college fund was used to pay his mother's medical expenses and his treatment program. Richard wants him to attend a nearby tech school and study business so he can take over and run the farm, which has been in the family for generations. Richard, middle-aged and depressed over losing his wife, is tired of managing the business himself, which is faring poorly by not going organic. But James wants to study music and recommends that Richard take an offer from a couple who want to buy Fair Haven and grow organic apples. Recognizing his choices are limited, James agrees to consider attending tech school and work on the farm for now.
On a delivery to the local grocer, he encounters his former boyfriend Charlie (Josh Green), who is still in love with James but recognizes he has changed. James is cool but civil towards Charlie. He flashbacks to his time with Dr. Gallagher, reminding him that any warmth he had for Charlie was based on lust because "sin makes us feel good while we are committing it, but that doesn't mean it is good for us." Trying to repress his feelings for Charlie, James goes to church for inspiration and moral strength, meeting the pastor's daughter Suzy (Lillian Harrison), whom he starts dating. Richard is thrilled that James is interested in Suzy, saying, "Your Mom would be proud." Richard doesn't know how to deal with a gay son. Meanwhile, Charlie is gay-bashed while walking home from work. James insists on driving him home. This reignites their passion for each other, exacerbated by James' near-disgust when Suzy kisses him. Charlie wants to run away and start a new life together. Where and with whom does James' future lie?
First-time director Kerstin Karl Huber has shepherded the movie well, not allowing it to become preachy, with Jack Bryant's thoughtful script giving the characters time and space to evolve in their feelings. None of this would work without the right actors, and everyone shines here. Grant, with his matinee looks, is on his way to movie stardom, giving a nuanced performance. He also plays Chopin and Brahms piano scores beautifully. His chemistry with Green is electric, and their barn sexual dalliances have a lusty kick. Wopat, forever Luke Duke, shatters his image and becomes laconic perfection as a father who loves his son and wants to accept him, but doesn't understand his sexuality and doesn't have the tools to build a bridge. Harrison, almost unrecognizable from his Trapper John days, is convincing as the therapist who has his own rationale for treatment. To Bryant's credit, the character is not demonized, though his homophobia is present even in his compassionate rhetoric. Cinematographer Jason Beasley deserves credit not just for capturing Vermont's lush greenery but also for showing pictorially how claustrophobic small-town rural life can be. Fair Haven focuses less on ex-gay treatment and more on its after-effects. This understated but gripping movie deserves not to be lost under the radar.