Ekaj (2015)

"Ekaj" (Jake Mestre) is a naive, handsome, young man who arrives in New York City full of optimism but precious little else. He's not on the streets long before he realises that it's an harsh and hostile place for a penniless man to live. Fortunately he encounters the savvy "Mecca" (Badd Idea) who takes him under his wing. "Mecca" has AIDS, drinks fairly constantly and engages in petty larceny to pay the bills. Meantime, "Ekaj" adores the brute that is "Johnny" (Scooter LaForge) who regularly treats (and beats) him like dirt, but his association with his new friend is beginning to make him stronger, more aware and a little less vulnerable. As the story progresses we see the inevitable deterioration of his friend trigger something in the young man that might stand him in a better stead as he struggles to get to grips with the venal, dangerous and disease-ridden environment he now frequents. On the face of it, it's quite a gritty look at life on the game, but Mestre portrays the attitudinal young man way too weakly - if any of those scenarios were real then I reckon he would have lasted about five minutes, with or without "Mecca". The jerky hand-held camerawork that tried to give it an edgier, documentary-style, feel to it got on my nerves after about ten minutes too. "Ekaj" is not an engaging character and though I did find Badd Idea much better in the role of a man sentiently staring death in the face, he just didn't feature enough to give this enough realism and to help us develop the character of his young, rudderless, protégé. The pacing is also all over the place and it felt a lot longer than eighty minutes. It certainly had potential, - the concept is worth exploring, but this just doesn't deliver, I don't think.