Wonderful character development!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Stories concerning different minorities include always some intrigues and scenes not comprehensible to "majority" audience, but if they are subject to general ideas and values, they obtain wide popularity and understanding. Here, in Strapped, the leading character becomes serene within a limited space and time, but still continuing hustling, and all this is not convincing to me. The types he meets are distinct and colorful, but the balance of their deeds and thoughts is often illogical (particularly with aging Sam, although their dialogue is the most interesting in the movie), and combining stereotypes, gay-4-pay elements and sophisticated reasoning does not always fit. True, if we had do with a student work, it would be rated high, as the idea is distinct and most of acting is good, but as for a creation by a "ready-made" filmmaker - too pretentious and fabulous. Of course, I realize that I do not belong to the target audience, but so it seems that Strapped does not deal with human values in a general manner without leaving gay elements and attitudes too visible and "constraining".

I admire TAL-Releasing brand in the entertainment business and their dedication to focus on LGBT issues in their work; we still need that in our era but I got to admit that some of their titles are way too shallow and depend on mere sexual plots without a solid core; this movie isn't one of them. The movie start chic with a good-looking, even sexy, main lead (even guys who are not into twinks would agree) who work as a hustler. After his session with a client, he tried to locate the building exit not knowing that the next turn would bring him more existing encounters. I should firstly praise the director's work, he really tried to squeeze the talent from his actors, an effort quite shown throughout the film. The lightning might be a bit dim but I found it matching most of the atmospheres in the movie. The movie has a timeless vibe - watchers from different times could still relate to the movie stories and the events has a sense of dream-like effect which add to the artistic value of this work. The sex scenes aren't really explicit comparing to other movies in the same genre or with similar story-line. I'll give them in terms of intensity 6 out of 10; I find this quite refreshing. The movie has a message, for viewers who like this kind of things. Still, you could enjoy it with no need to analyze the events. It could be a personal story for the protagonist or for you, it is your choice. I recommend it for a quite night view or with a new date.

The only flaw in the movie "Strapped" is its title, which elicits a gay porno more than the sweet emotional narrative it actually is. Yes, the story of a man allegorically making his way through life and finding himself in the end has been done before, but the framework of this story is beautifully constructed, and beautifully polished. It's unfortunate that this film is "strapped" with the classification of gay genre, and many straights will see it only as a disgusting homo erotic porn flick, when in actuality it is one of the better, if not the best, journey of life allegories I have ever seen. Unlike most straight guys, I am not bothered by gay sex. This allows me to transfer the emotions of the film into my own heterosexual domain, and allows me to see that love is love, and in a perfect world it wouldn't matter who you loved, nor would anyone mind who you loved. This movie touched me, and where some see ambiguity (an oft repeated criticism of the film), I see a precious vagueness which is the crux of human existence. "Strapped" is worth the visit, just like the apartment building, and life in general, is worth the visit. If the goal of the producers was for the audience to experience love, the mission was accomplished.

It kills me when someone attempts to classify a movie as "gay" and/or "straight". If it falls into either of those categories it fails at being universal. I found this one, minus some of the raunchy dialogue, to be universal. If gays can love "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Pretty Woman", why can't straights love this? Hustler pretends to be whatever/whomever his male clients need, and discovers himself along the way. Is that really so taxing? Brief nudity in the beginning, sex that focuses solely on the facial expressions for the rest of the film, and some pretty rough/real dialogue. Really, too much for straights? I don't think so. The lead is perfect, the rest of the acting can be spotty, and there's a lot of verbal exposition(redundant?) Still an awesome film no matter the genre. When I saw the term "hustler listed in the description I almost passed, as I would "Coming of Age" or "HIV Positive" themed films, but this one is different. A gay guy figuring himself out. Cool flick.