Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download this movie.
Plot Summary
Set in the free-spirited San Francisco of 1985 in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Chris Mason Johnson's “Test” follows young aspiring dancer Frankie (dancer Scott Marlowe in his acting debut) as he confronts the challenges of being an understudy in a modern dance company where he’s taunted to “dance like a man!” Frankie embarks on a budding relationship with hunky Todd (Matthew Risch, HBO’s “Looking”), a veteran dancer in the same company and the bad boy to Frankie’s naiveté. As Frankie and Todd’s friendship deepens, they navigate a world of risk, but also a world of hope, humor, visual beauty, and musical relief. Featuring captivating dance sequences especially choreographed for the film by acclaimed U.S. choreographer Sidra Bell.
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
89%- Reviews Counted: 18
- Fresh: 16
- Rotten: 2
- Average Rating: 7.0/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Here is San Francisco as it was in its bohemian twilight, on the eve of catastrophe.
Fresh: The film is an appealing variation on a popular genre, and if it's a little too low-key to attract a mainstream audience, it marks a promising step forward for the writer-director, Chris Mason Johnson.
Fresh: Six years after his debut feature, The New Twenty, writer-director Chris Mason Johnson returns with a film that's less polished but braver.
Fresh: If Test can portray a dark time with an underlying sense of hope for the future, it's because almost thirty years later, looking back at 1985, it has no ambivalence about the progress that's occurred since.
Customer Reviews
Don't miss!! Beautifully filmed, sensitive, informative, historical film
I had the good fortune of seeing this very moving film at the Lincoln Center Film Festival late last year. Taking place in San Francisco in the 1980’s, it centers around a dancer, the San Francisco dance world and the, then, new ‘Test' for HIV. The main character wrestles with his fears and taking the ‘Test'. It is a film that leaves you with hope for the character as opposed to being left depressed and hopeless by imminent death....wonderful acting/dancing by Scott Marlowe & Matthew Risch..Also loved the focus on dance (beautifully filmed choreography from NYC’s Sidra Bell) and the thread of the art form woven throughout the film. Pre-ordered it!
Great Film! Loved it!
TEST is a wonderful film, filled with beautiful choreography and dancers, as well as a great score. I have seen so many dance films that use unfortunate body doubles, but TEST manages to prioritize the dance scenes without losing any focus on the acting or plot. Great film, I’d highly recommend it!
Test
A quiet and affecting portrait of a time, but also of the life of a dancer at that time. Kudos to writer/director Chris Johnson, to the director of photography, to the dancers and actors who make every small moment count. Not to be missed.
Viewers Also Bought
- Naked as We Came
- Richard LeMay
- View In iTunes
- Burning Blue
- DMW Greer
- View In iTunes
- Pit Stop
- Yen Tan
- View In iTunes
- Out in the Dark
- Michael Mayer
- View In iTunes
- Truth
- Rob Moretti
- View In iTunes