POSE
2018
Original language: English
- drama
The story
A dance musical that explores the juxtaposition of several segments of 1980s life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe and the downtown social and literary scene.
What it’s like
Saturated color and glossy, mirror-lit ballroom floors give way to muted gray Manhattan streets, with warm practical light in the apartments where the found families gather. The camera moves with the dancers, catching the snap of vogue poses and the sweep of runway walks, while the score cycles through house and disco beats that drop into quiet piano whenever the story turns inward. The mood is bittersweet and buoyant at once: exuberant, glittering celebration held against the grief of the early AIDS years, with tenderness in the kitchen-table scenes and steel in the boardroom sequences of the wealthy Manhattan world. Pacing is episodic, with big set-piece balls alternating with slower, character-driven chapters. Intensity is significant: frequent sexual content and nudity, transphobic and homophobic violence, and recurring illness and death from AIDS, sometimes depicted directly. Its emotional arcs follow people building chosen family under pressure and fighting for dignity, recognition and love. It suits viewers who want style, music and warmth with real hardship, rather than something gentle or escapist.
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