High Tide (2024)

High Tide (2024) is an American romantic drama film written and directed by Marco Calvani and starring Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin.

Cast

Marco Pigossi as Lourenço
James Bland as Maurice
Marisa Tomei as Miriam
Bill Irwin as Scott
Sean Mahon as Bob
Mya Taylor as Crystal
Bryan Batt as Todd
Todd Flaherty as Leslie
Karl Gregory as BJ
João Santos as Dimo

Director: Marco Calvani
Genre: Romantic Drama
Year: 2024
Setting: Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA.

Synopsis

- The film centers on Lourenço, an undocumented Brazilian immigrant navigating life as the summer season ends in Provincetown.
- His emotional journey is the core of the film, dealing with feeling heartbroken and adrift.
- His path intertwines with Maurice, establishing a deep romantic connection.
- The movie explores the characters reconciling with past struggles and dealing with an uncertian future.
- The movie utilizes the unique location of Provincetown, and the end of the summer season, to emphasize the feelings of impermanence, and searching for connection.
Themes:
- Immigration and displacement
- Loneliness and isolation
- The search for love and connection
- Navigating identity and belonging
- Race and class.
Significance:
- The film provides a tender and nuanced portrayal of queer relationships within a specific cultural setting.
- Marco Calvani has transitioned his artistic vision from acclaimed playwright, to film director.
- It showcases a depiction of modern gay love, while dealing with complex socioeconomic pressures.

“High Tide” is characterized by its intimate character studies and its use of the Provincetown setting as a crucial element in the narrative, enhancing the film’s exploration of human connection and the search for belonging.

Release and Reception

The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024. It is set to be released in New York on October 18, 2024, followed by an expansion to Los Angeles on October 25, and select cities on November 1 2024.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 22 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.

Chris Azzopardi of The New York Times hailed the film as “poignant” and rewarded it with the Critic’s Pick certification.

Siddhant Adlakha of Variety gave the film a positive review. He called the film “beautiful and devastating” and wrote, “…Pigossi delivers a stunning performance”.

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review and wrote: “Marco Calvani’s sensitively observed first feature… speaks from the heart”. He also praised Pigossi’s “haunting lead performance, steeped in melancholy and raw pain but also in moments of openness, optimism and even joy, helps make High Tide an affecting portrait of untethered gay men seeking meaningful connections”.

Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire graded the film a B-. He called the film “sexy, sad… frank and honest [and] palpably hot,” and remarked that the film “dares you not to be obsessed with – and attracted to – its leading man Marco Pigossi”.