TELEVISION

by Blase DiStefano and Troy Carrington

SUNDANCE CHANNEL RULES

• The Slaughter Rule

This extraordinary film begins with Roy Chutney (Ryan Gosling, pictured center) walking beside his horse in the snow. When he comes upon a deer impaled on a barbed-wire fence, he goes to the deer and gently pets its forehead. When the deer moves, Chutney is taken aback. Because the deer is alive and suffering, he knows he should “slaughter” it, so he picks up a sizable rock, raises it over his head, and ... no, he can’t do it. Rather than putting the wounded animal out of its misery, he takes a different, more compassionate route—he apologizes to the deer, lies on the snow next to it, and keeps vigil with the deer.

This sensitive scene is followed by Chutney playing football, his only outlet (other than alcohol) in a small town in Montana, only to immediately be kicked off the team. When a different coach cajoles Chutney into playing on a new team, a story of trust begins.

This new coach, Gideon Ferguson (David Morse, pictured left), is rumored to be queer, and he certainly doesn’t do much to dispel the rumors; one really can’t tell if his interest in the young, straight Chutney is fatherly or sexual. It seems to boil down to same-sex love without the sex, a drive for affection. And since Ferguson has no intercourse with women (figuratively and literally), his present relationships are exclusively with men (and in this case, very young men).

But The Slaughter Rule seems to be less about whether Ferguson is gay than it is about trust. Will Chutney trust the coach after he hugs the youthful athlete, a hug that this queer thought bordered on lust?

The “slaughter rule” in football is a forced end to the game before the point of humiliation, something Ferguson wants to avoid at all cost. Will Chutney be as compassionate with the coach as he was with the deer?

Morse and Gosling give superb performances, and Clea Duvall (pictured right) as Chutney’s girlfriend is a gem. Added treats are the exquisite cinematography and great country music. (This was Gosling’s first film after his gifted performance in The Believer, which appeared at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.)

The Slaughter Rule was an official selection in the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

The Slaughter Rule’s airdates on Sundance Channel are as follows (The Believer’s airdates are in parentheses):

Mon., Sept. 8, midnight

Sat., Sept. 13, 8 p.m. (followed by The Believer at 10)

Tues., Sept. 16, 1:30 & 10 p.m. (The Believer airs at 8; and The Believer’s last airing is Sun., Sept. 21, at 8 p.m.)

Sun., Sept. 28, 3 p.m.

To confirm schedule: www.sundance channel.com. —Blase DiStefano

• Swimming

Prior to garnering universal acclaim in Six Feet Under, Lauren Ambrose won plaudits for her performance as a tomboyish teen in Swimming, a refreshing coming-of-age story.

While working at her family’s restaurant, shy Frankie (Ambrose) finds that her relationship with her extroverted best friend (Jennifer Dundas Lowe) is endangered when two summer visitors (Joelle Carter, Jamie Harrold) begin giving Frankie some unexpected amorous attention

Swimming airdates on Sundance Channel:

Sat., Sept. 20, 8 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 21, 4 a.m.

Tues., Sept. 23, 11:30 a.m. & 10 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 26, 8 a.m. & 6:25 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 28, 12:30 p.m.

Mon. Sept. 29, 11:30 a.m.

To confirm schedule: www.sundancechannel.com. —Troy Carrington

• The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Emotional manipulation, claustrophobia, and dependency—recurrent themes in the plays and films of Germany’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder—are front and center in The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a 1971 film about a wealthy, divorced fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) who falls for a working-class beauty (Hanna Schygulla).

Enacted on one set (with props playing critically important supporting roles), this haunting chamber drama masterfully covers a range of universal emotional interactions, from infatuation, jealousy, and silent longing to possession and coercion.

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant airdates on Sundance Channel:

Wed., Sept. 10, 8 p.m.

Tues., Sept. 16, 12:45 a.m.

Fri., Sept. 26, 11:55 p.m.

To confirm schedule: www.sundancechannel.com. —TC

• “Anatomy of a Scene”—Die Mommie Die!

Taking a crucial moment from Mark Rucker’s new comedy Die Mommie Die!, “Anatomy of a Scene” examines how the director/actor/writer Charles Busch (Psycho Beach Party) and other key collaborators brought to the screen this high-camp parody of melodramas of the 1950s and ’60s.

For his performance, Busch was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

The film costars Natasha Lyonne, Jason Priestley, and Frances Conroy.

Die Mommie Die! will be one of a select group of films exhibited as part of Sundance Channel’s new theatrical film series, which travels to 10 cities this fall.

“Anatomy of a Scene”—Die Mommie Die! airdates on Sundance Channel:

Sun., Sept. 21, 6 p.m.

Mon., Sept. 22, 11 a.m. & 11 p.m.

Thurs., Sept. 25, 10:30 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Tues., Sept. 30, 8:30 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.

To confirm schedule: www.sundancechannel.com. —TC

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