living end

"The Living End" is an angry, nihilistic film that explores themes of fear, mortality, and existentialism. It follows two HIV-positive gay men, Luke and John, on a chaotic road trip. Luke is portrayed as psychotic and suicidal, while John is meek and influenced by bands like the Smiths and Joy Division. The film challenges traditional portrayals of gay men and ends with a condemnation of the system. It is more than just a Thelma and Louise-type story and deserves more recognition. The Living End is an angry film. The abstract ideas of fear and mortality and existentialism are what hangs over this film. It begins with a decorative shot of Luke spray-painting the words, fuck the world, in a wall, and it ends with a condemnation of the system, dedicated to Craig Lee, 1954-1991, and the hundreds of thousands who've died, and the hundreds of thousands more who will die because of a big White House full of Republican fuckheads. The Living End is a nihilistic, positively demented road-trip film. It follows two HIV-positive gay men, Luke, the drifter, and John, a film critic. Luke is psychotic, suicidal, maniacal, the antithesis of all portrayals of gay men in cinema up until then. At one point, he kills three gay bashers in a homicidal rage. John is meek, with poses of the Smiths, and Joy Division on his wall. Luke kills a cop and meets John, and the two go on their run. A regular Thelma and Louise, but it's more than that. The label is a disservice to the film.