High Tide (2024 film)

High Tide is a 2024 American romantic drama film written and directed by Marco Calvani and starring Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, Bill Irwin and Mya Taylor.

Plot
Heartbroken and adrift, undocumented Brazilian immigrant Lourenço (Marco Pigossi) searches for purpose in the queer mecca of Provincetown while awaiting the return of his distant American lover, Joe, the one person who offers him a glimpse of a brighter future. As summer's warmth begins to fade, Lourenço encounters Maurice (James Bland), a charismatic African American nurse on a fleeting holiday with his boisterous and carefree friends. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, the two men find a common bond in their shared feelings of alienation and loneliness in a country they struggle to call their own. Together, the two reconcile the pasts they’ve left behind and their uncertain futures.

Cast

 * Marco Pigossi as Lourenço
 * James Bland as Maurice
 * Marisa Tomei as Miriam
 * Bill Irwin as Scott
 * Mya Taylor as Crystal
 * Sean Mahon as Bob
 * Bryan Batt as Todd
 * Todd Flaherty as Leslie
 * Karl Gregory as BJ
 * João Santos as Dimo

Release
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024.

Reception
The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on seven reviews. Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire graded the film a B-. He called the film “sexy, sad… frank and honest [and] palpably hot,” and remarked that the movie “dares you not to be obsessed with - and attracted to - its leading man Marco Pigossi.”

Siddhant Adlakha of Variety gave the film a positive review. He called the film “beautiful and devastating” and wrote, "...Pigossi delivers a stunning performance."

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review and wrote: “Marco Calvani’s sensitively observed first feature… speaks from the heart.” He also praised Pigossi’s “haunting lead performance, steeped in melancholy and raw pain but also in moments of openness, optimism and even joy, helps make High Tide an affecting portrait of untethered gay men seeking meaningful connections."