Leaving Metropolis
Encyclopedia
Leaving Metropolis is a 2002 Canadian drama film
written, directed, and based on the play Poor Super Man by Brad Fraser
, about a gay man and a married heterosexual man who fall in love. It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
. The film played the international gay and lesbian film festival
circuit throughout 2002 and 2003
.
, tracks David down at the diner against his wishes. An annoyed David demands that she write up the diner in her column, which she does. The diner's business picks up considerably.
Shannon, whose sex reassignment surgery
has been repeatedly delayed because of her HIV
-positive status, begins to become ill. David has a painting installed and Kryla gets his photo in the paper. Matt and Violet see the photo and realize that he's famous.
David and Matt start hanging out. Matt, who had tried his hand at drawing comic book
s, pesters David to show him his paintings but David resists. Matt confesses that he had once fallen in love with another man in college although he hadn't acted on it. David, finding himself drawn to Matt, paints him nude (although Matt doesn't pose). He tells Matt that there's a painting he needs to see. Matt comes to David's place and sees the painting. He becomes aroused and the two begin an affair.
David paints two more portraits of Matt, who still doesn't actually pose. Kryla and Shannon hail them as his best work and entreat him to exhibit them but Matt, nervous about how Violet would react, makes him promise not to. Each also tells the other that he loves him. They keep the relationship secret, though, especially in the face of the vehement disapproval Kryla expresses to David at the idea of his sleeping with a married man.
Kryla soon discovers the affair when she walks in on David and Matt having sex. A panicked Matt tells David that he lied about loving him and flees. In the aftermath of the affair, Shannon convinces David to break his promise and exhibit the paintings. He does so under the title "Straightman." When Matt learns of the show he confronts David, first threatening to destroy the paintings and then offering himself again sexually. David contemptuously dismisses him. Matt tells Violet about the paintings and about the affair and admits that he is in love with David. She demands a divorce.
Shannon, who has grown progressively more ill, decides to take her life. As she dies, David runs into Kryla at a bar and they have a bitter fight.
Violet attends the opening but merely tells David that the paintings are very good. As she's leaving Matt arrives and she refuses to give him another chance. After the opening Matt again approaches David who also rebuffs him.
At film's end, Violet sells the Main St. Diner and Matt has left town. David has also decided to leave. He and Kryla reconcile.
in the early 1990s, including his revealing his secret identity and marriage to Lois Lane
and The Death of Superman
storyline. The events in the comics parallel events in the lives of the characters.
Grand Prix des Amériques - nominated
on April 6, 2004
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written, directed, and based on the play Poor Super Man by Brad Fraser
Brad Fraser
Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and cultural commentator. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. Fraser's plays typically feature a harsh yet comical view of contemporary life in Canada, including frank depictions of...
, about a gay man and a married heterosexual man who fall in love. It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The film played the international gay and lesbian film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
circuit throughout 2002 and 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
.
Plot summary
David (Troy Ruptash) is a well-known artist who is blocked. He decides to take a job as a waiter to try to find inspiration. His friend and roommate Shannon (Thom Allison), a pre-op male-to-female transsexual, stumbles across the Main St. Diner, owned by Matt (Vince Corazza) and Violet (Cherilee Taylor), who are looking for a waiter. David gets hired and quickly becomes close with the couple although they don't know of his standing in the art community and are surprised to learn that he's gay. David's friend Kryla (Lynda Boyd), a columnist for the Winnipeg TribuneWinnipeg Tribune
The Winnipeg Tribune was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890 to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old Winnipeg Sun newspaper. It was often viewed as a liberal...
, tracks David down at the diner against his wishes. An annoyed David demands that she write up the diner in her column, which she does. The diner's business picks up considerably.
Shannon, whose sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
has been repeatedly delayed because of her HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-positive status, begins to become ill. David has a painting installed and Kryla gets his photo in the paper. Matt and Violet see the photo and realize that he's famous.
David and Matt start hanging out. Matt, who had tried his hand at drawing comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s, pesters David to show him his paintings but David resists. Matt confesses that he had once fallen in love with another man in college although he hadn't acted on it. David, finding himself drawn to Matt, paints him nude (although Matt doesn't pose). He tells Matt that there's a painting he needs to see. Matt comes to David's place and sees the painting. He becomes aroused and the two begin an affair.
David paints two more portraits of Matt, who still doesn't actually pose. Kryla and Shannon hail them as his best work and entreat him to exhibit them but Matt, nervous about how Violet would react, makes him promise not to. Each also tells the other that he loves him. They keep the relationship secret, though, especially in the face of the vehement disapproval Kryla expresses to David at the idea of his sleeping with a married man.
Kryla soon discovers the affair when she walks in on David and Matt having sex. A panicked Matt tells David that he lied about loving him and flees. In the aftermath of the affair, Shannon convinces David to break his promise and exhibit the paintings. He does so under the title "Straightman." When Matt learns of the show he confronts David, first threatening to destroy the paintings and then offering himself again sexually. David contemptuously dismisses him. Matt tells Violet about the paintings and about the affair and admits that he is in love with David. She demands a divorce.
Shannon, who has grown progressively more ill, decides to take her life. As she dies, David runs into Kryla at a bar and they have a bitter fight.
Violet attends the opening but merely tells David that the paintings are very good. As she's leaving Matt arrives and she refuses to give him another chance. After the opening Matt again approaches David who also rebuffs him.
At film's end, Violet sells the Main St. Diner and Matt has left town. David has also decided to leave. He and Kryla reconcile.
Superman
The film is set against the backdrop of several events in the fictional life of SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
in the early 1990s, including his revealing his secret identity and marriage to Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
and The Death of Superman
The Death of Superman
"The Death of Superman" is a 1992 comic book storyline that occurred in DC Comics' Superman titles. The completed multi-issue story arc was given the title The Death and Return of Superman....
storyline. The events in the comics parallel events in the lives of the characters.
Awards and nominations
2002 Montréal World Film FestivalMontreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
Grand Prix des Amériques - nominated
DVD release
Leaving Metropolis was released on Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 6, 2004
2004 in home video
-Movie releases:The following movies were released on video on the following dates:-TV show releases:The following television shows were released on video on the following dates:-Sports DVD Releases:...
.