4/5 interesting docu gay film
  by Ernest C. Goins (GREENSBORO NC)
on the down low was a good movie done documentary style. i enjoyed all the stories of each character. the film is very up to date and deal with real issues. it really makes you think about the down low world and how big it really is. one drawback, the film needed to be longer.

3/5 Decent Documentary, Just a Misleading Cast of Players
  by Charlie B. (Washington, D.C.)
I'm still not convinced.

With the exception of Ray (who was younger and more masculine of the bunch) and Antonio (who used to be a crossdresser before he was sent to prison and is still very much feminine), the men were clearly homosexual. I don't like to perpetuate stereotypes, but from their mannerisms to the way they talked, it was quite evident. So during this documentary, I just found myself stumped beyond belief about how these Black women--and our Black women in general--play the fool to this at times. Is it a lack of self worth or a hunger to have a man at any cost? Kerwin, attractive as he was, was just as feminine as could be, yet there was a female in particular that was chasing him up until he sits her down to tell her that he sleeps with men. I felt he was still in denial because he never came out and said he was gay, he used the safe term bisexual. When Antonio's 19-year-old boyfriend George brings his girlfriend to the gay club and then tells her that he is gay, ending their relationship, it is hard to watch but I don't feel too sorry for her as I'm sure that's not the first time she had seen him with or around Antonio and suspected. When Ray talks about a female he is dealing with during a confessional scene who blurts out during an argument, "You like hotdogs!" but is still with him (and he eventually gets her pregnant), it's just amazing that she knows what he does with other men, but settles.

The kind of men I would've really been most interested in seeing in this documentary were those that Antonio mentioned who were in prison, married, with kids. He seemed to paint a more vivid picture of these men than the documentary does. During one of his confessional scenes he pulls out many pictures of guys he dated and/or had sex with, and speaks of one man who he recently saw out with his wife on the street. He becomes fearful when he runs down the amount of people he's been with and goes to a free clinic to take an HIV test. In contrast, Ray uses the promiscuity of men, cheating, and worrying about them having HIV as a means to get out of dealing with them altogether when he goes back to females or decides to just be by himself. I found sympathy with his story the most because he seemed torn and mental with his fascination with only drag queens and transexuals. The common thread between Ray, Kerwin, and Billy lied in their heavy involvement in the scene. They attended gay clubs or house parties and used the lingo (femme queen, trade, father), something I just don't see a true down low man being a part of.

Antonio's mother said she didn't want to believe [that he was gay] but she was aware. When Kerwin tells his father, who mentioned that he heard things, it was heartwarming to hear him say, "You're my son...You could never embarrass me." But in the end if confirms these men are just hiding from themselves because if a parent always knows, many others probably do as well.

I come from a time where the definition of a man on the "down low" or "dl" best described a man who was unclockable to the straight world; who basically carried himself like a man in masculinity and appearance, and kept up appearances to the straight world with the exception of being intimate with other men. A man on the down low knows not of the homosexual lifestyle or scene (clubs, lingo, etc.) and doesn't immerse himself in it; if anything he shys away from it for fear of being found out. A down low man wouldn't even put himself out there like this on camera. This documentary affirms what I see lately, a shift in the term as it defines any Black gay man--be it masculine or feminine--who has not come out or is not out to his straight counterparts.

In my opinion, this is just a documentary of open Black gay men telling their stories, as interesting as they are.

4/5 Thought-provoking work!
  by Gersham Hayden Weekes (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago)
Unusual documentary about a facet of (African-)American life that is seldom explored or discussed in public.

5/5 On the Downlow
  by sunshine sc (atlanta, ga)
Eye-opening documentary which chronicles the down-low lifestyle of five African-American males. An informative video that will cause one to stop and think about societies notions on sexuality.

5/5 "I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me."
  by Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service)
-quote by Ralph Ellison

On the Downlow is a rather well made documentary that showcases the degree to which young black men who are either gay or who like both men and women have chosen to remain "on the downlow" (which means "closeted") to avoid nasty confrontations and other social issues including the stigma associated with these lifestyles in the African-American community. The African-American community has usually been somewhat at odds with men who enjoy romantic time with other men; the black man is often expected to date women. This all means that many black men must at least superficially live their lives as if they were straight; this low budget yet powerful documentary seriously and meaningfully explores the issues these men face as a result of being something other than straight and therefore choosing or even having to live their lives "on the downlow." In addition, the action moves along at a good pace and the quality of the print is excellent.

We meet several African-American young men and we listen and watch as they talk, go dancing and socialize on film. We see very clearly how they choose to cope with their sexuality and how their relationships can either blossom or suffer as a result. One young man named Kerwin opens up to a platonic girlfriend and they become better friends while another young man says his family would disown him if they knew what his lifestyle really was. Another young man named Ray likes to go with men dressed up as women especially because he doesn't want to wake up to a scruffy face; he prefers to wake up to a woman's face even though he knows he's occasionally been intimate with a man. Ray goes through his life as a thug mostly on the downlow although of course he has some friends who do know his true preferences. Kerwin sweats it out as he dials his father on the telephone to tell him that he liked both men and women; how will Kerwin's father react to this news? We also meet Antonio who was intimate with men when he was incarcerated. Antonio tells us of how some men explore intimacy with other men in jail or prison and he adds that some of these men keep these preferences as at least part of their lifestyle when they are released from incarceration. We also meet George, who dates Antonio; and we see how George handles things when a crisis arises in Antonio's life. We also see Antonio's mother and how she reacts to the knowledge that her son is dating another man; and we witness the moment when George tells his "girlfriend" that they are over as a couple--when he takes her to a gay bar along with his boyfriend. How will she react?

The DVD comes with the theatrical trailer but the real plus is a valuable bonus: We get about fifteen minutes of extra footage with some of the men from the film and two more men who are not in the film. In particular, we meet Will, a school teacher who has feelings for men but yet wants children although he hasn't figured out yet where straight marriage stands in his life. Despite the fact that Will has feelings for men he is openly opposed to marriage between two men; again we see the heavy influence of the African-American community's belief that black men should be straight and that being gay or liking both men and women is neither truly acceptable nor valid as a lifestyle choice.

On the Downlow is an excellent documentary that takes a rare look at African-American men who have feelings for other men (or who have feelings for both men and women). I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in this issue.