High Tide (2024 film)

High Tide is a 2024 American romantic drama film written and directed by Marco Calvani and starring Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin.

High Tide
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Marco Calvani
Written by	Marco Calvani
Produced by	Mickey Lidell Pete Shilaimon Marco Calvani
Starring	Marco Pigossi James Bland Marisa Tomei Bill Irwin
Cinematography	Oscar Ignacio Jiménez
Edited by	Anisha Acharya
Music by	Sebastian Plano
Production company	LD Entertainment
Distributed by	Strand Releasing
Release dates	March 9, 2024 (2024-03-09) (SXSW) October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Portuguese[1]

Cast

• Marco Pigossi as Lourenço
• James Bland as Maurice
• Marisa Tomei as Miriam
• Bill Irwin as Scott
• Sean Mahon as Bob
• Mya Taylor as Crystal
• Bryan Batt as Todd
• Todd Flaherty as Leslie
• Karl Gregory as BJ
• João Santos as Dimo

Synopsis

Heartbroken and adrift, undocumented Brazilian immigrant Lourenço searches for purpose in the queer mecca of Provincetown. As the summer season comes to an end, he sparks an intense and unexpected romance with Maurice. Together, the two reconcile the pasts they have left behind and their uncertain futures.^[2]

Release

The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 9, 2024.^[3][4] It was released in New York on October 18, 2024, followed by an expansion to Los Angeles on October 25, and select US cities on November 1.^[5] High Tide had its European premiere at the 39th BFI Flare Film Festival in London (19th–30th March 2025).^[6]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 25 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.^[7]

Chris Azzopardi of The New York Times hailed the film as "poignant" and rewarded it with the Critic's Pick certification.^[8]

Siddhant Adlakha of Variety gave the film a positive review. He called the film "beautiful and devastating" and wrote, "...Pigossi delivers a stunning performance".^[1]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review and wrote: "Marco Calvani's sensitively observed first feature… speaks from the heart". He also praised Pigossi's "haunting lead performance, steeped in melancholy and raw pain but also in moments of openness, optimism and even joy, helps make High Tide an affecting portrait of untethered gay men seeking meaningful connections".^[9]

Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire graded the film a B-. He called the film "sexy, sad… frank and honest [and] palpably hot," and remarked that the film "dares you not to be obsessed with - and attracted to - its leading man Marco Pigossi".^[10]