I've created this IMDb account solely to write a review on this movie and the prequel as I think they haven't been given enough credit. First of all, no, this is not a disappointing sequel, in fact it's a great one and Jon Garcia did a marvelous job in making it realistic and not the cliché kind of gay-movie continuation. The first movie reflects so many experiences and thoughts that I've been going through throughout my life and I think most of other religious people's lives, even though we may not be Mormon. And that was what made it really close to heart and made it an almost realistic drama that had me attached to the characters as if they're myself.
Testament of Love touched me way more than the first one did though, as the movie narrates basically all of my life expectations and vague planning that I have been developing since I found out about myself. I am a religious Muslim man and have been struggling with my sexuality for a long time now and I haven't came out to anyone. Due to my strong faith in God, I have been relieving myself by saying that this is one of the strongest challenges God can give to His servants and that I'd get the best of rewards in the hereafter for going through this on the right path until I die. And In Islam, God doesn't specifically condemn the feelings of homosexuality and He'd only give worldly challenges that the servant can bear.
Because of that, this movie speaks to me like no other movie, or even, no other person has before. The main characters resonate a strong emotion of love, guilt, sadness, frustration and hope without needing lengthy or even detailed dialogue. And the fact that the RJ and Chris had gone on separate "lifestyles" that are common choices to Religious gay men, just screams to me about the (frustrating) realities of my life expectations as a Religious gay man.
Moreover, I love the grayness of the plot and characters of this movie such as RJ's strong faith in God even though he's not a practicing Mormon anymore and the complex scenes where the gay- relationship, family and religious issues are being tackled. The characters in this movie are individuals, and even though they are tied to certain societal and religious views, they have their own individual thoughts. And that's what I really love. It makes the movie really realistic.
Yes, some may say the movie is quite too long and a bit draggy, but I don't mind that as those are what makes this movie life like and not just another gay-problem-suicide or gay-coming out-happy/unhappy movie. And I don't mind the length as I really want to know more about their lives, even if they're fictional.
Thus, I applaud the director, producers and actors for producing such a realistic, close to heart (and much more cinematic) movie and I really hope that you guys can make another sequel, perhaps for a proper closure to myself and the other viewers, and to relieve my already bad movie-depression that I'm having. By the way, I regretted not watching this movie and the prequel much much earlier.
