Test

"Sometimes it's just a matter of chance"

2013 1h 29m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

82%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 231🍅82%Rotten Tomatoes●70Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 1,752

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

San Francisco, 1985. Two opposites attract at a modern dance company. Together, their courage and resilience are tested as they navigate a world full of risks and promise, against the backdrop of a disease no one seems to know anything about.

“Sometimes it's just a matter of chance”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Scott Marlowe
Frankie
Matthew Risch
Todd
Kevin Clarke
Bill
Kristoffer Cusick
Walt
Damon K. Sperber
Dr. Corbett
Chris Mason Johnson
Jerry

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Mason Johnson
Writers: Chris Mason Johnson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chris Mason Johnson, shot by Daniel Marks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ceiri Torjussen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Scott Marlowe and Matthew Risch and Kevin Clarke carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes it's just a matter of chance".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2407380 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Mason Johnson directs. Daniel Marks behind the camera. Ceiri Torjussen scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 13 years ago.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Chris Mason Johnson, shot by Daniel Marks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ceiri Torjussen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Scott Marlowe and Matthew Risch and Kevin Clarke carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Sometimes it's just a matter of chance".
8IMDB entry: tt2407380 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel Marks
Original score: Ceiri Torjussen
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Test (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 70/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 1,752 votes
MPAA: TV-MA
US box office: $18,823

Awards

3 wins & 3 nominations

Also by

Chris Mason Johnson

The New Twenty
2009 · ★ 5.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-10-19
★ 7/10
In San Francisco in 1985, news of screen legend Rock Hudson’s illness is across the news and the gay community is starting to come to terms with the fact that they are especially vulnerable to a deadly new disease. That might well impact on the lives of a professional dance troupe in which both “Frankie” (Scott Marlowe) and “Todd” (Matthew Risch) work. The latter, older and more experienced man, has made it clear that he supplements his thirty week a year income with some extracurricular activities and this doesn’t sit so well with the anxious “Frankie” so initially he keeps him at arms length. Then, with an important performance looming, the pair start to bond a little and we start to explore something of what makes them tick. Aside from the fact that both of these actors, and many of the supporting cast, are clearly lithe and adept dancers there is also quite a compelling effort provided by Marlowe as a lad who is used to having fairly regular sex and who is now nervous as hell that he might have contracted the virus. On a broader level, some of his friends are erring on the side of condom-caution, others carrying on regardless and some abstaining altogether, so what should he responsibly do? Medical science is still on the back foot with regard to HIV and it’s only when they develop a blood test that it becomes possible to alert potential sufferers of their positivity. Might it be better to know, even when there is no possible treatment, or is ignorance a better policy? Perhaps the tests in question don’t just involve a needle? It’s the timeframe, the context and the dancing that helps this along more than the often quite bland dialogue and Marlowe does quite well as his character begins to exhibit some of the fears that so many gay men felt at a time when panic and stigma were way more prevalent that accurate information. There’s also a fair degree of Bronski Beat from the soundtrack, too, and “Smalltown Boy” has lyrics that remind us that even without this “plague”, being gay in itself was not always so easy. It avoids any cheesy sentimentality, slushy romance and features some stylishly choreographed dance routines, and as a gay time capsule from quite a scary 1985 is worth ninety minutes.

Production companies