High Tide *** (2024, Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, Bill Irwin) – Classic Movie Review 13,336

Marco Calvani’s appealing 2024 American romantic drama film High Tide stars Brazilian actor Marco Pigossi, along with James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin.

The 2024 American romantic drama film High Tide is written and directed by Marco Calvani and stars Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin.

Marco Pigossi stars as undocumented Brazilian immigrant Lourenço, who has been abandoned by his boyfriend, and is heartbroken and adrift, left alone searching for purpose in the queer beach resort of Provincetown. He is befriended by older good guy Scott (Bill Irwin), who provides him with a home and introduces him to lawyer Todd (Bryan Batt) who might help him get his papers to stay legally in America, and starts to work house painting for the equally nice Miriam (Marisa Tomei).

He meets Maurice (James Bland), there on a brief visit from Manhattan, and starts an intense and unexpected romance with him. But Maurice has to go home at the end of the week, and Lourenço finally hears his boyfriend has dumped him and gotten married to someone else. He takes to sex and drugs and partying. Never mind High Tide, it’s high time something good happened for Lourenço.

Marco Pigossi in 2018.

High Tide (2024) is a sweet, tasteful, reflective film. The story is straightforward, simple and direct but still quite moving, mournful and haunting, the commonplace turned into some special, even a little extraordinary. Marco Pigossi gives a seemingly effortlessly appealing performance as the hero, so you are always on his side, and therefore also the film’s side too. With less to do, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin are all good too, carving out memorable characters. Marco Calvani writes cannily, and handles it all very carefully and attractively, making the most of the glorious Provincetown scenery, the eye-catching cinematography Oscar Ignacio Jiménez and the plaintive score by Sebastian Plano.

High Tide may not be deep but it is a lovely wallow. and makes quite a nice little splash.

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

The cast

The cast are 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, and João Santos as Dimo.

Marco Pigossi (born 1 February 1989)

Brazilian actor Marco Pigossi came out as gay in November 2021, and made public his relationship with Italian director Marco Calvani.

Marco Calvani (born 11 December 1980)

Marco Calvani’s films as writer/director are The View from Up Here (short film  2017),  A Better Half (short film 2022) and High Tide (2024).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,336

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com