Actors Cayman Cardiff and Declan Clifford soar in the new vertical drama “Altarboy” for ReelShort. #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos has the recap.
The synopsis is: After getting kicked out for being gay, 18-year-old Theo (Declan Clifford) is dumped at a Catholic Church to be cured and finds his new priest to be young, hot, and a total jerk who makes Theo his personal altar boy.
What starts as a game of temptation becomes a slow-burn obsession neither can pray away, but as the game turns real, both Theo and Alexander risk losing everything to a love neither of them is supposed to want.
This vertical is anchored by the powerhouse performances of Cayman Cardiff and Declan Clifford… it finds resonance in its characters while maintaining an intimate, beautifully controlled sense of storytelling.
Cayman Cardiff is a force of nature! He brings an extraordinary vulnerability to the vertical screen, which runs the gamut. There is an immediacy to his performance that makes every hesitation, glance, and burst of emotion feel authentic. He possesses the rare ability to command attention without ever appearing to reach for it, giving the character of Father Alexander a neat mixture of strength, temptation, and fragility.
Declan Clifford is equally impressive, delivering a nuanced and subtle acting performance as Theo Martin filled with warmth, conviction, and emotional complexity. His chemistry with Cardiff is one of the vertical’s greatest strengths. Their scenes together have an organic rhythm, allowing the relationship at the heart of “Altarboy” to develop with genuine feeling rather than an artificial sentiment.
Michael Heymann plays the nefarious father, Matthew Martin, who rejects Theo as his son for being gay.
The Verdict
Overall, “Altarboy” is a compelling new vertical drama on ReelShort that is heartfelt, affecting, and thoroughly engaging.
It is a poignant story about morality, self-acceptance, self-discovery, faith, and standing up against society’s norms. It will certainly move audiences on an emotional level. Cayman Cardiff and Declan Clifford will blow audiences away. It feels like watching “Doubt” all over again, and Cardiff is our Philip Seymour Hoffman. It garners an A rating. Well done.
