The old adage "rules are made to be broken" is put to excellent use in director/writer Rodrigo Guerrero's captivating tale of a male threesome that intriguingly re-defines another mantra: share and share alike.
The seventy-minute history of this ménage à trios (featuring camera-friendly Emiliano Dionisi as Fede, the young man searching for his mother's absent love by worming his way into the bed of an eight-year partnership: well portrayed by Carlos Echevarría and Nicolás Armengol) is structured much more like a theatre play than cinema. Many of the extended scenes feature cinematography (imaginatively angled by Gustavo Tejeda) where the camera doesn't move for minutes on end, happily defying the 30-second change-the-shot "rule." There are also long stretches with nary a word of dialogue (quite understandably when the three men morph from chatty dinner companions to speak-hands-for-me, all-out lovers; the opening—an online private video chat between the principals where—largely—the taunting, teasing texting is "heard" and the coda—accompanied by the drone of a lecturer while Fede's visage incredibly replays the previous evening's tryst—succinctly demonstrates why silence can be especially golden.
As happens millions of times a day all around the globe, the online flirting, stripping and dares is presented honestly (with several quick cutaways to hard-core porn spicing up Fede's imagination while contemplating entering the dance with his very attentive admirers), but then the tone changes considerably as the young man summons his courage, showing up for a night of wine, food and fornication with virtual strangers.
The script's initial nervousness and awkward moments are ideally executed by the actors even as the wine has its effect and topics move from the comical (the monkey gag is a hoot) to much more serious fare. But of course, there has to be a first move to get the sexual fire lit; once made, it is soon clear that this will be a caring, mutually agreed upon encounter that—and so tastefully shot, making the earlier porn seem more tawdry than ever—is far more about love making than quick-release sex.
The following day opens with an enticing mystery, then a voyeuristic turn in the shower that subtly sets the stage for the sequel (Yes, please).
Couples and singles everywhere may well come away from a viewing wondering whether they should ever risk going down the same path where three might or might not be a crowd. JWR