‘Any Day Now:’ A film on the gay disco era

This saga of a gay couple seeking custody of a special-needs child is much more than the premise promises – or the unfortunately mawkish film trailer: It is a well-written, expertly cast, skillfully directed indie feature. Set in the late-1970s in a non-scenic version of Los Angeles, Any Day Now is based on a true story and feels like it. Less-skilled filmmakers might have gone overboard with forced emotion, plot contraptions and flat characters, but director and co-writer Travis Fine has crafted a deeply moving piece that feels rooted.

Veteran actor Alan Cumming brings texture to the dangerously cookie-cutter role of a broke drag performer who revels in unfiltered expression. His characterization of Rudy is familiar: brash, playful, trashy, likeable, but never unnecessarily ridiculous. As the biggest name in the cast, Cumming doesn’t overshadow the story or other characters. Rudy’s personality is big and elbowing for recognition, which comes with consequences. His outbursts provide opportunities for director Fine to show the era’s reactions and biases indirectly.

It’s interesting to see Cumming in a singing role 20 years after he burst onto the scene as the emcee in Sam Mendes’ gritty redux of Cabaret. His voice was never that of a virtuoso, but his ability to sell a song is what made him a star. As Rudy, a drag performer in a gay club, the character has flair — but not too much. Cumming’s ability to temper the role of someone with very few filters keeps the film from becoming preachy.

Rudy has a fan at the club who is a stunner: Tall, dark, handsome Paul (Garret Dillahunt) is a junior attorney and looks like he just fell out of a ’70s GQ spread. Their swift courtship is from the dressing room to the parking lot, where Rudy and Paul’s first intimate encounter blossoms below a steering wheel.

Dillahunt is superb as a disco-era legal eagle. The director and Dillahunt create a refreshing character, avoiding the overused type. Paul is subtly eager – not really a fish-out-of-water, more like a deer in a zoo, whose cage has been opened by an earthquake, shaken and wary of new freedom.

When Rudy and Paul interact, there is affection, exasperation and flaring tempers, but the director keeps everything in proportion. This is an instance of a film creator with limited funds who knows how to stretch within the film’s constraints.

Newcomer Isaac Leyva is an actor with Down Syndrome. He delivers an engaging character in Marco, a special-needs teenager with a problem-ridden mom (Jamie Ann Allman). They live down the hall from Rudy. When Marco is abandoned overnight, Rudy finds him bewildered and hungry. Apparently mom is in a legal pinch, so Child Services arrives to pick up Marco. Rudy realizes the kid with whom he has quickly bonded is likely to fall through the cracks in the system.

What ensues is a story that is as pertinent today as three decades ago with accepting souls outnumbered by detractors, a legal system that still has strides to make, and relationships that flourish when they’re not strained by individual growth. Perhaps the weakest element of the picture is the title song, delivered with overblown emotion: “Any Day Now, I shall be released…” But it was the late 1970s; I was a teenager, and I remember it was an enormous gospel crossover hit for Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, and dozens of others.

Travis Fine has populated the film with the familiar faces of actors who are recognizable and solid, but not all well-known names. Francis Fisher is the appeals judge; Gregg Henry is the opposing attorney. Don Franklin as the attorney for Paul, and Rudy is quite a sight with his ’70s Afro, but when he opens his mouth, the dialogue is strong and Franklin’s on-target portrayal of a black professional quickly dispels any ideas of parody.

Any Day Now avoids going “there” – the place where believability must be suspended or apologies made for the budget or director’s lack of sophistication. In that course, it remains balanced and thoughtful, while never hitting the audience over the head with messaging and issues. While it isn’t without bumps, the film is incredibly satisfying, and this role is being hailed by critics as one of Cumming’s finest performances.