Variety
All the performances are very good (though one might ask why no one has a regional accent), with stage-trained Smith providing a center of quiet intensity.
Full review
1985
A closeted young man struggles to reveal his identity and dire circumstances to his conservative family in this drama shot in stark black and white.
After three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian (Cory Michael Smith) returns to his Texas hometown during the AIDS crisis. Burdened with tragedy, Adrian seeks to reconnect with his brother Andrew (Aidan Langford) while navigating his relationship with his religious parents (Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis). When he reaches out to his estranged childhood friend Carly (Jamie Chung), their unresolved issues force Adrian to confront an uncertain future that will change the lives of those around him forever.
Less2018Rating: M, Drug use & offensive language86 minsUSA
DramaFestival & Independent
- Director:
- Yen Tan ('Pit Stop', 'Happy Birthday', 'Deadroom')
- Writer:
- Yen Tan
- Cast:
- Cory Michael SmithMichael ChiklisJamie ChungAidan LangfordRyan Piers WilliamsMichael DarbyBryan Massey
1985 | Reviews
96%51 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
The Times
The dark inky frames are full of shadows and dread. Yet the narrative, and Adrian's journey, is always leavened with quiet compassion.
Full review
The New York Times
A moving cinematic sketch of a HIV-infected man living through the height of the plague.
Full review
The Guardian
It's a beautifully acted film. In the dark days of the epidemic it would surely have been impossible to make a drama so balanced, so compassionately attuned to everyone's feelings.
Full review
Screen Daily
1985 gets the notes right, and its foreboding look takes us back to a dark age. It's a lesson worth remembering. Yet with all the prejudice and pain, the film still feels a lot like a sermon.
Full review
Los Angeles Times
This profoundly resonant, smartly understated black-and-white film greatly benefits from more than 30 years worth of sociosexual perspective that reminds us how much has changed, yet how much else has not.
Full review
Hollywood Reporter
Anchored by a deeply felt central performance from Cory Michael Smith, the modest but affecting film should find a receptive niche with LGBT audiences.
Full review