Swan Song

Udo Kier excels in the true story of a flamboyant hairdresser who had to tend to a former client’s hair for her funeral.

Over the years Swan Song has often been chosen as the title for a film and there is no sign of that ending. 2021 saw two feature films of that name, one being the recent release starring Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris. Now we have the other movie: it comes from writer-director Todd Stephens and the easiest way to avoid confusion is to describe this as the gay one. The latest Swan Song is built around a central character seen in his seventies and, despite the elaborations in the tale told, this is a portrait of a man who actually existed and who died in 2012. He had spent over thirty years in Sandusky, Ohio as a hairdresser much in demand, not least among female socialites and his name was Pat Pitsenbarger. Being somebody who never tried to hide his gayness (he was flamboyant in a manner not so far removed from that of Quentin Crisp), Pat, who would perform a drag act in a local gay bar as Mr Pat, was somebody much admired by Todd Stephens who felt that Pat’s example encouraged many like himself to come out as gay. Consequently, this film commences by varying what has become no more than a clichéd phrase in films drawing on reality but it is with absolute sincerity that Stephens describes Swan Song as “inspired by a true icon”.

In point of fact, this work is a homage to two men, the second one being the German actor Udo Keir who, playing Pat, is absolutely screen centre. Although Keir has made an enormous number of films and has worked for many noted directors, this film is the one that puts him fully in the spotlight and enables him to give a performance which ranks with his very best. Although we first encounter Pat living exclusively in a nursing home, the story told sees him getting out and into the town when he decides to comply with the wish of a former significant client just deceased, Rita (Linda Evans). In her will she has requested him to prepare her hair to create the best impression as she lies in her casket.

Finding what he needs for this and making his way to the funeral home takes Pat back to old haunts and to sites now totally altered. As a result of that Pat’s memories of the past, including recollections of his long-term partner who had died of Aids, come to the fore. Both through flashback images and through talk, Swan Song evokes a past age and, in doing so, it expresses a degree of nostalgia despite the beneficial changes that have come about in society’s attitude to gay men. Indeed, the major achievement of Swan Song is to capture a gay tone of a specific kind often associated with an earlier age. It is in part reflected in the adroit use of songs on the soundtrack featuring such singers as Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and Audrey Hepburn (‘Moon River’). If Pat’s manner lends itself to something close to camp, there’s always a tinge of regret in the film added to by the fact that Pat’s life is drawing to a close (Dusty Springfield’s ‘Yesterday When I Was Young’ is another of the songs on the soundtrack). Furthermore, Udo Kier’s performance is always pitched on a wholly realistic level and that makes it inappropriate to define this simply as a camp film.

This works well for a work in which the other characters tend to be largely subsidiary (Jennifer Coolidge has just a couple of scenes as Pat’s protégé who became a rival). Nevertheless, it must be admitted that Swan Song is imperfect. Some of Pat’s visualised daydreams work well enough, but an imagined sequence involving an old friend who in reality has died is clumsy and off-putting. Later a scene in which Rita briefly appears as a ghost figure feels misjudged too. A scene featuring Rita’s nephew (Michael Urie) has the potential to end the film effectively, but it is followed by some extra drama that is unsubtle and unnecessary. But, just as Jamie Patterson’s Tucked (2018) gave Darren Nesbitt his best role late in his career, so too Swan Song is no less splendid as an opportunity for Udo Kier to shine at the age of seventy-six and what the film gets right is far more important than what it gets wrong. I have suggested that to label Swan Song a camp movie sells it short, but you may disagree particularly if you stay for the final shot after the end credits.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Udo Keir, Jennifer Coolidge, Linda Evans, Michael Urie, Ira Hawkins, Tom Bloom, Justin Lonesome, Thom Hilton, Roshon Thomas, Shanessa Sweeney, Bryant Carroll, Shelby Garrett, Dave Sorboro.
Dir Todd Stephens, Pro Todd Stephens, Eric Eisenbrey, Tim Kaltenecker, Stephen Israel and Robert Topham, Screenplay Todd Stephens, Ph Jackson Warner Lewis, Pro Des Kassandra DeAngelis, Ed Spencer Schilly and Santiago Figueira W, Music Chris Stephens, Costumes Kitty Boots and Shawna-Nova Foley.

House of Gemini/Luna Pictures-Peccadillo Pictures.
103 mins. USA. 2021. US Rel: 6 August 2021. UK Rel: 10 June 2022. Cert. 12A.