DVD Review – Triple Crossed
3 min read
Triple Crossed is the directorial debut of renowned adult video actor, Sean Paul Lockhart who also stars as one of the film’s protagonists, Andrew Warner. The film takes on a very military and somewhat violent perspective, dealing with issues of soldier’s suffering from PTSD, ethical issues of mercenary and issues of desertion.
Andrew Warner (Sean Paul Lockhart) is the gay lover of Tyler Townsend (Addison Graham) an American soldier killed during his service in Afghanistan, who inherited 51% of the shares of his lover’s multi-million dollar company upon the latter’s death. However, prior to his death, Tyler had co-run the company with his sister, Jackie (Laura Reilly) who owned the other 49%. Jackie resents Andrew for having inherited her brother’s shares and therefore the majority of power within the company and sets out to remove him from the picture by enlisting the help of another former military man, Chris Jensen (Jack Brockett) as a mercenary and paid hit man to kill her brother’s lover.
The narrative has the audience forever second guessing character intentions and involvements with each other, keeping viewers engaged. The twists in plot are used strategically in order to create the confusion undoubtedly caused by, and reflective of a triple crossing, as it turns out that hit man Chris isn’t all he seems, and his allegiance not necessarily with Jackie. All the while it seems that the story of Andrew’s ‘dead’ lover Tyler isn’t entirely truthful either. These multiple crossings and double agencies build up to a dramatic, but underdeveloped climax, filled with cringe worthy clichéd lines such as “Hello, crazy woman with a gun here?!”
In fact it’s not just the end in which this horrible dialogic diarrhoea is present, it’s unfortunately featured throughout the entirety of the film, something that’s a real shame as the initial storyline is filled with potential. And it’s not just the words of these lines that make them so painful to watch, but also the way in which they’re delivered, through an apathetic staccato without any sincerity or depth.
Although the storyline has the potential to be a refreshing inclusion in the realm of LGBT cinema, it too has its flaws in that, it turns out Chris was actually a military comrade of Tyler’s, and swore to his friend upon his deathbed to protect Andrew (he knew who Andrew was before Jackie introduced him). And so it’s questionable as to how it was that Chris intended to do this prior to being able to manipulate Jackie’s employment.
Despite these minor setbacks, Triple Crossed is full of awkwardly sweet romance between the killer and target (of course!) with intensely passionate bed scenes and gentle scenes of companionship and protection. If only it had been structurally developed a little more and included a different cast of actors then it could have been a profound take on post militant life and gay relations.
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