Writer/director Joseph Graham’s intimate, affecting drama “Beautiful Something,” which is set and was shot in Philadelphia, is now available on DVD and VOD. The film, which opened QFlix last summer, chronicles four characters whose lives overlap over the course of a night.
Brian (Brian Sheppard) is a poet looking for love and inspiration. At one point, he meets Jim (Zack Ryan), an actor who “goes where my body takes me.” Jim is involved with Drew (Philly native Colman Domingo), a famous artist. A fourth character, Bob (John Lescault), is an older man craving companionship who crosses paths with some of the characters.
The stories address love and longing. Brian wonders what went wrong during a one-night stand, but also contemplates a relationship he had with a guy he loved a while ago. Jim debates leaving Drew, and spends part of the night with Brian and Bob. As the characters take risks and search for love, they reveal truths about their lives.
Graham said in a recent phone interview that he developed the characters and storyline from his own experiences. He brought the actors in to explore and create the characters.
“That’s how they blossomed — how we saw who they were. There had to be many layers of emotion, connection, vulnerability and loss, and intensity and aggressiveness: those milliseconds where you feel connected and then suddenly, it’s lost. What’s really played up is that the sex [between characters] means one thing to one person, and something completely different to the other.”
Sheppard gives a fantastic performance, and Graham acknowledged “the enormous strength in Brian’s portrayal and transformation. It’s his talent and craft, and his wit and intelligence.”
He also praised Domingo, who improvised much of his role.
“Many of the actors were strict to the script, but with Coleman, it was better to let him riff. He was very much in [character] and fixated on something, so I just let him go with it during our improvised rehearsals. The shape of the monologue was mine, but the words were his. We found things through rehearsing and discovering. We’d bring that work back to the script and make the changes. Coleman changed things with improv and rehearsal.”
The naturalistic quality of the film creates a real melancholy feeling in every frame. Graham explained that this was deliberate.
“There is a loneliness to the feel and style of the film — the lighting and the sound — that’s me, too. There wasn’t planning with that, it just felt right. There is an aching, a longing, and it’s so ephemeral. I like an Edward Hopper-esque mood.”
One of the brighter elements in the film comes from Philly resident Matthew Rios, who plays Sergio, a pivotal character who flirts with Brian. In a recent phone interview, the center city-based Rios spoke about his participation in “Beautiful Something,” which was shot a few blocks from where he was raised.
He recalled, “I told Joe [Graham], ‘If this is your story, I’ll bring it to life.’ I fell in love with the role.”
Graham called Rios “a really lucky find for us. We knew he was the guy. He got what the character was there for in terms of the function of the story.”
Rios and Sheppard are charming together, and the actor acknowledged, “We just clicked. When I got the role, we talked for an hour and got to know each other and develop our chemistry. We talked about our past and our days, and our interactions just seem real. Even to this day, we are still in contact.”
The actor, who is straight, further described how he prepared to play the character. He found a subtext for Sergio, a young man who is looking for love, just like the four leads.
“He is hiding something. I wanted to show there was something more going on with him. That’s how I saw him.”
Rios had no problems with the kissing scenes and worked out to play a character who is fit and has a certain masculine posture. Although Sergio rides past Brian on a bike, ironically, Rios had trouble with that — Graham revealed that Rios didn’t know how to ride a bike.
“I am not a bike rider. If it were just walking by, it would have been perfect!” the actor deadpanned.
But the charming Rios had no trouble being flirty. He laughs in response to a question about his seduction moves.
“What you see on screen is how I am. I’m always the guy who is open. I say stuff like, ‘You’re cute, too’ when I flirt. That’s why I was so supportive of the movie. There are people out there who are closed when it comes to [flirting]. People need to be open.”
“Beautiful Something” may be imbued with melancholy, but it will also make viewers smile.