ANY DAY NOW ***

Travis Fine's remarkable film "Any Day Now" deals with the very thorny issue of gay parenting or more specifically, gay adoption. Alan Cumming, (superb), is the drag artist who feels responsible for the mentally handicapped child next door, (a terrific Issac Leyva), after his mother is picked up by the vice squad and who decides to do something about it by legally adopting the child himself with the help of his new lover who just happens to be a lawyer, (a very good Garret Dillahunt).

It's the kind of topic the movies tends to shy away from and it has all the potential for mawkishness but Fine manages to steer clear of sentimentality; the result is both intelligent and very moving, yet not without a degree of humour. Of course, it also deals with issues that many will find grim and distressing and it proves to be a challenging watch. This is one gay-themed film that lays it very much on the line and is all the more powerful for it. In an age when so many polemical films are cut and dried and conventionally on the side of the angels here is one that is content to bleed like an open wound. You won't forget it in a hurry.