Popnography
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Tony Manero, a Chilean film that depicts a sociopath's disturbing obsession with John Travolta's Saturday Night Fever character of the same name, is clever in the way it transfixes its viewer. In essence, one would expect a film about a serial killer whose sole pleasures in life are derived from hustling to "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees to be vivid, messy, and a bit campy -- perhaps like Party Monster, another club-era related slasher. Instead, director Pablo Larrain, through use of stylistic selectivity, doles out the more sensational aspects of Tony Manero by adhering to the restrictions of a particular setting -- the slums of 1970's, dictator-controlled Santiago.
In this world -- where American pop culture is imported and subsequently idolized for its escapist qualities -- cold-blooded murder is not so uncommon. Rather, the killing depicted is deliberately unemotional and quick; many times it's just implied as the camera quietly exits a scene. Murder is a means to an end for Raul, a brusque, meticulous 50-year-old, whose passion is to become the Tony Manero of Chile on a lookalike-based TV show. Quiet, sullen, sexually ambiguous, he meanders through his scenes with a seething anger and impatience, only dropping his guard once the lights in the town theater dim and the disco music of Saturday Night Fever flares up.
Oddly, and quite pleasantly, this film hooked me with two conflicting, yet omnipresent sources of anticipation -- the volatile, unpredictable temper of its lead character alongside the buildup to an endearingly campy dance-off or two. I came to adore Raul and fear him, much like the ancillary characters that worship him like a god imbued with falsified power and fame. Genre-bending at its finest (and most original), Tony Manero blends the subtle and outrageous into a fascinating narrative about desperation, idolatry, and disco.
-- MIKE BERLIN
Previously > Bruno draws passionate mixed reviews
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
38 Male Celebs Who Did Full Frontal Scenes
November 17 2023 5:18 PM
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
December 31 2023 12:19 PM
29 LGBTQ+ celebs you can follow on OnlyFans
April 18 2024 1:00 PM
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
February 28 2024 1:50 PM
17 times male celebrities had to say they weren't gay
May 07 2024 1:14 PM
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
April 03 2024 4:01 PM
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
February 14 2024 10:20 AM
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
April 04 2024 12:56 PM
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
January 04 2024 10:54 AM
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
December 04 2023 10:32 AM
Watch Now: The Daily
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Latest Stories
May 8, 2024
7h
'All Stars 9' queens take over Washington DC & meet Karine Jean-Pierre
May 07 2024 4:22 PM
11 LGBTQ+ athletes we'll be rooting for at the 2024 Olympics
May 07 2024 3:52 PM
It's official: Twunk icon Tom Daley is heading to the 2024 Olympics
May 07 2024 2:57 PM
Meet Nicholas Galitzine's August Moon bandmates from 'The Idea of You'
May 07 2024 1:57 PM
Kehlani is back with a new music video for the song of the summer
May 07 2024 12:40 PM
Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo sang a Whitney & Mariah classic at the 2024 Met Gala
May 07 2024 12:26 PM
Austin denies Sean's 'Selling the OC' claims: 'I'm a straight man'
May 07 2024 10:58 AM
Loewe basically won the 2024 Met Gala
May 07 2024 10:45 AM
The 10 best-dressed celebrities at the 2024 Met Gala
May 06 2024 9:10 PM