Directed by Stephen Kijak, the biography of renowned actor Rock Hudson is examined in this relevant investigation of Hollywood and LGBTQ+ identity, from his public “ladies’ man” character to his private life as a gay man.
The history of Rock Hudson’s journey through Hollywood from the picture image of manhood to helping to bring AIDs awareness is one very worthy of exploration. Starting out with the balance of create that perfect Hollywood image, fitting into the mould that’s being shaped for you while living a closeted life. It’s a good example of how actors of his day were so tightly bound by the public perception of them both in their professional and personal lives, walking a strict line to keep their career going strong.
However, it doesn’t feel like Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed gets to grips with a lot of the bigger issues at work. It tends to take quite a personal tact, which works but only to a certain extent. Part of the problem is that it can veer off on tangents which feel clumsy and cheap, particularly when it strays into overtly sexual territory which is unnecessary. It’s as if it’s looking too closely and losing the bigger picture, going for anecdotes rather than his impact and how he was treated as a gay man, particularly in the latter years.
Its stylistic choices are another element which holds it back, a lot of the time the talking heads aren’t on screen and it’s simply audio over archive footage. It works but takes away from the atmosphere, particularly as when it does show them, they’re the people adding to that clumsy feel. The way it’s cut together can also feel somewhat erratic, it’s flitting around from story to story rather than building on itself.
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed only scratches the surface of this story and gets much too distracted along the way. There are too many choices which prevent it from building a depth or intimate feel to lend weight to the story and its perspective. There’s plenty of information there, and likely plenty more we’re not seeing, but it’s packaged together in a way that doesn’t do justice to the key elements. Instead, it takes a somewhat gossip-esque tone which undercuts the overall atmosphere.
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