Play the Devil (2016) User Reviews

Wretched, sadistic ending twist!!!!

[ohlabtechguy · 5/10 · 31 January 2019]

Here we have yet another one of these twisted independent movies where the director/writer insists upon getting the viewer to like the main characters and then ends the film with a sadistic tragedy that dashes all hopes. This movie doesn't fail in that regard. The young leading character comes from poverty but has a lot going for him. He's bright and motivated. He meets a kind, married gay man who wants to help him fulfill his potential and then the writer blows it all apart and shoves a tragic ending down the viewer's throat. Unless you are sadistic and love hopeless tragic endings, then you should avoid this movie. If you prefer to be uplifted, watch something from a screenwriter who wants to focus on the positive.

Rare Trini Film With Non-Trinidad Elements

[redrobin62-321-207311 · 7/10 · 12 July 2021]

Of course, the reason why I titled my review the way I did is because homosexuality is a massively big deal in Trinidad and, as far as the populace is concerned, punishable by death. For years, Trinidad has been playing a tug of war between the conservatives and progressives. Generally speaking, if you wish to progress outside island society, you have to leave for Europe, the US, Canada, and so on. That's where the characters of "Play the Devil" erred. Trinidad should never be confused with Fire Island, NY or Provincetown, MA where such behaviour is the norm. In any case, the movie was daring and intriguing simply because of the bold subject matter, and also because it gave viewers an in depth look of how the common folk live there. The film itself wasn't great - it was a little slow in parts, but the acting throughout was fine and the cinematography of the countryside and beaches are worth the price of admission. Recommended.

Well done for the most part but filled with homophobia and shadeism

[nab_20 · 5/10 · 25 April 2020]

Good acting minus the older guy. Loved the grandmother and best friend devins acting. Petrice who plays Greg is a rising star. The stereotype of homosexuality being something you are recruited into is sadly worked into the plot and the light skin son being the good smart one and the dark son being the wayward bad one is also a part of the plot and these things show that this film was done by a white and I imagine straight woman thus the lack of authenticity. A good film but these stereotypes bring it down

Play the Devil

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 13 February 2023]

Petrice Jones plays this rather well as an 18 year old Trinidadian that befriends a wealthy local man who becomes infatuated with him. The storyline takes it's time and to be honest, it doesn't really go anywhere before an ending that really rather lets it all down a bit. The potential to get to the bottom of the relationship between the two men - which is, to a certain extent, reciprocal - is underdeveloped, but there is an integrity about Jones' performance that helps carry the production which must have been done on a shoestring budget. It also manages to show us some of the beauty of the islands and of the people. There is potential from this for both the actor and director Maria Govan - it's a good start.

I like it

[hirbojoh · 7/10 · 3 April 2020]

I saw the trailer on YouTube it looks good it educate the community ,I will be more happy if get the movie in full 🤗

A Greek Tragedy in an Age when None are Needed.

[Bayamon_Hill · 3/10 · 19 July 2019]

First things first, it is amazing to see a movie set in Trinidad and to get to see and hear the sights and sounds of that place. It's a beautiful place with a lot of culture. In that sense, this movie does a lot for the country. It does very little, however, for its protagonists, who are up against cruel fate and decidedly lose, and for real people in those very same situations. When life gives you lemons, you shouldn't get more of them from a movie.

If I were a gay kid from the Caribbean who finally got to see my world on the big screen, I would be very saddened by what I see. The only movie about me tells me that my life is tragedy and will end in tragedy. That makes this movie cruel and sadistic. The lived experience of people in homophobic cultures is hard enough without having it reflected back on 100-foot screens. This movie should have been about the hope for something better than can, and does, happen for people, even in places like Trinidad.

So when is it okay to show the bad, not just the hopeful good, of being gay in homophobic worlds? The simple answer is when there is no more homophobia. The longer answer is when there is enough representation in film to offer variety. If I were a young girl from a culture that demands my pre-arranged marriage at 12 years old, and I don't want that for myself, I wouldn't want the only movie I get to see about myself being about a young girl who gets married off, raped and then murdered by the end.

The two characters in this movie, James and Greg, are not free to make decisions - everything about their relationship seems pre-destined and nothing can change. There is very little discussion between the two, nor is there evidence of reflection. The two just move haplessly forward to the bitter conclusion. This movie is not fair to them, and it's not fair to those sitting in seats hoping to see something more inspirational than the cruel realities many still find themselves in.

On a very amateur level...

[UmpahpahBg · 2/10 · 26 February 2017]

I guess that the plot is known to the reader, in short young, pure, but gifted guy from the rural farming village in Trinidad, meet mid age wealthy businessman. The relationship that leads to seduction, tangled with many other problems in the pure guys life that seems quite OK, until the start of the movie.

Movie from Trinidad and Tobago must gain your sympathy at first, and of course you wouldn't expect a masterpiece. But, there are just to many but... The plot: Weak, predictable, with many detours from the main topic, and completely irrelevant jumps aside. Scenes are leaning one upon another, usually just to fill the time, many times completely pointless. Camera and directing are very basic, and few times I caught myself I felt uncomfortable watching unpleasant cadres. And finally - acting: below any reasonable expectation, on a very, very amateur level. Especially Gareth Jenkins, the man who is playing the wealthy businessman - just terrible.

So the score 2, just because of the sympathy for a young cinematography from Trinidad, and quite nice carnival scene.

Disappointing and cruel

[tilokaudaman · 4/10 · 12 May 2019]

This movie had some real potential but evolved into a negative, grotesquely predictable conclusion. If anything, it is an anti-gay movie with little redeeming qualities other than the attractiveness of the two stars and some interesting cultural insights.

beautiful but flawed Caribbean film about internalized homophobia

[fictionweaver-270-445348 · 8/10 · 11 February 2019]

Maria Govan's film owes a debt to both "Death in Venice" and "Black Orpheus," but is identifiably Caribbean in it's perspective and insights into machismo and homophobia, and in its sense of danger and fatalism.The cinematography beautifully showcases the splendour of the Caribbean landscape (the film was shot in the Bahamas, but set in Trinidad) as well as the poverty and misery. Petrice Jones gives a subtle, shaded performance as a sensitive, tortured youth struggling with his identity, and Gareth Jenkins is radiant as the charming, benevolent but ultimately doomed older man. The chemistry between the two characters in palpable, and every nuance and gesture is completely believable. The script is unadorned with cliches and clever twists of phrase which would get in the way of the characterizations. Viewers may not be thrilled with the outcome of the plot, but are forced to accept the reality of "gay" life in the Caribbean. This is not a film I would watch over and over, but I'm really happy I discovered it, and have no problems recommending it to like-minded cinephiles.

Very ill-intended written movie

[badttboy · 1/10 · 6 March 2021]

Full of several pessimistic story lines not even one positive aspect. A negative representation of life and culture in Trinidad and Tobago. Deplorable writing, acting and directing. Maybe this production would have been more suited against the backdrop of a homophobic country where violence towards LGBTQ people is the norm. My only conclusion is a sense that this was made with a subtle ill intent.

The Devil is in the Writing and Directing

[drew-15194 · 2/10 · 13 August 2023]

This film feels like it was written in the 1950s or before, when all gay relationships were tragic and ended in violence, with a mood full of judgment, control, and shaming for anything that threatened to transgress puritanical values. Unlike Black Orpheus however, which this film seems to aspire towards, Devil is so hackneyed and inept in the way it works itself towards its tired conclusion, the tragedy isn't transcendent, it lies in the writer/ director's slow moving exploration of every queer stereotype in every fear-based homophobic film. Seriously, the film is a class in tired film tropes that became obsolete 50+ years ago. You have the morning after shame, the self-hate, the fear of being outed, the queeny older gay preying upon the 'good boy,' the sugar daddy trope, the 'concerned and confused wife' cliche, the crying closet case cliche, the soft boy trope, the toxic masculine cliche, the violent judgment cliche, etc. All of this is lazy writing and painting by numbers, not storytelling that is fresh, unique, and revelatory. The moments that ARE authentic, those defined by the Trinidad setting, sadly get lost under all the rehashed leftovers. The bright moments in this film are the talented actors overcoming the writer/director's limitations. These include the young lead, his granny, his hothead brother, and his best friend. Most of the rest of the characters are so brutishly underwritten they feel like props or furniture. This is disturbingly true for the poorer residents of Trinidad. Yuck. Stars for the actors only.

Imagine working an entire day ...then not getting paid

[JJ-Chi · 2/10 · 7 February 2021]

This movie could have been quite good. But the ending (or complete last thereof) led me to subtract 7 stars.

I would give this ZERO stars if I could. Imagine investing your time/effort in something that ends abruptly with NO CONCLUSION. It felt as if the writer/filmmaker completely gave up and simply went home with no regard for the audience. Why bother making something that you don't intend to finish?

Simply AWFUL!! Complete waste of time.

Another Billy Budd Tale

[ossurworld · 10/10 · 20 May 2018]

Director Maria Govan's intriguing character study will not be acceptable to those viewers who want someone else (director, actor) to telegraph who's the bad guy. The film is Play the Devil. Govan is playing Devil's Advocate.

You have to think when you watch this movie, and you may not be happy with your decisions. What seems on the surface to be one of those May-December gay romance stories, set in the poverty-stricken island of Trinidad, turns into Billy Budd.

Beautiful and naïve, young Gregory (Petrice Jones) is the promise of his family. Approached by an older (but not old) businessman (Gareth Jenkins) with plenty of money, he finds himself flattered by the attention-at first.

Here is a chance to escape poverty, receive an education, and live in indolent luxury. It is tempting, but the young man has second thoughts-and needs space. Perhaps he is not gay after all. However, his obsessed older fan won't take no for an answer and begins insinuating himself into all aspects of Greg's life.

Feeling more and more trapped and cornered, Greg sees how such a relationship will ease the burdens of his family and open up a new world for him. Yet, his stalker knows better-and insists that the young man is merely fighting his nature when he should give in to it. It's enhanced by two remarkable performances by the leads.

You know this is heading in a negative direction, but perhaps you will not see how it must conclude.

Set against the Carnival of Trinidad where young men paint themselves in blue and act the role of devils, chaotically racing through the streets, you have a clear case of possession. You may not have just another gay movie here.

Director Govan is not making this easier with her parallels to Billy Budd, and her film becomes an un-gay parable.

Brilliantly disturbing

[Coralknight · 9/10 · 27 January 2020]

This is seriously one of the most captivating and visually spectacular films of the last decade. It accurately shows a "slice of life" in a tropical island paradise between the "haves and have-nots" in Trinidad and Tobago. The character studies of Greg and his home life are not only astounding, but draw the viewer into a world that few people off the island see. We not only empathize with Greg's' plight, but understand how he was so easily taken with a sympathetic "father figure", who turns out to be more of a fatal attraction. The emotions and reactions this film evokes are visceral; you can sense the despair in Greg as he seems to sink deeper and deeper. I am honestly far from a prude, but I had to stop watching/look away through most of the sex scene (and it was relatively tame) just because I really felt the mercenarial tone going on there. And this becomes more and more evident as the film progresses when we see Greg's ability to control his life is slowly being taken away. In fact, while many of the reviews here are saying "homophobia!", I think they are totally missing the point: this was NOT about a boy coming to grips with being homosexual; it was about his CHOICES (i.e. to come out as gay) being taken from him and being controlled by someone more powerful; all the clues were there. The character of Greg's friend, "Devin" is masterful, representing the comfortable and predictable stability in his life, a "constant"...even an unwelcome one. Devin delivers some of the most masterful lines of the film which in fact underscore a deeper wisdom of Greg's situation ("opportunity...now that's real freedom" or referring to James as Greg's "sugar daddy" in jest...but not really). I would have liked to see a version twice as long, or even a mini-series since there were just too many interesting characters, questions and situations that still could have been explored. All in all, this is a cinematic master-piece...what more should be said?