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101 MINUTES | KENDALL SQUARE "No one goes to the movies to feel bad," snaky studio executive Jeffrey (Campbell Scott) asserts during his seduction of Robert (Peter Sarsgaard), an emotionally insecure screenwriter in need of cash. Jeffrey will pay $1 million for The Dying Gaul, Robert’s autobiographical script dealing with the death of his lover from AIDS — as long as Robert is willing to transform the tragic romance into a heterosexual one. It’s 1995, and "Americans hate gays," Jeffrey proclaims, before things take a turn for the Greek — in more ways than one. Implausibly ignorant of her husband’s bisexual proclivities, Jeffrey’s wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson), begins her own manipulation of Robert. Ah, Hollywood. Freshman director Craig Lucas, adapting his 1998 play, shows a deft hand before undermining his talented cast with increasingly unbelievable plotting. To quote Jeffrey, "no one is going to see The Dying Gaul" — unless they like to feel bad.
BY BRETT MICHEL
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