AllMovie

In this dreamy, gay-themed indie, the debut from writer/director Ira Sachs, two young Southerners from very different backgrounds come together, move apart and continue on their separate paths -- with surprising results. Inarticulate, handsome Lincoln Bloom (Shayne Gray), son of an affluent Jewish family in Memphis, TN, cruises the gut looking for gay sex but also leads a second existence hanging out with his rowdy high-school friends, including Monica (Rachel Zan Huss), his dainty blond girlfriend. One night, Lincoln enjoys wordless sex with Ming Nguyen (Thang Chan), aka John, the immigrant son of an American G.I. and a Vietnamese woman. Another night, after an encounter with a businessman whose unusual predilections bewilder him, Lincoln meets John a second time in an adult bookstore. The slightly older man matter-of-factly convinces Lincoln to hang out with him; the two grab some beers and set out on the Mississippi in Lincoln's dad's boat. Along the way, John shares his life story and sense of frustration at not belonging in either his homeland or America; Lincoln isn't quite sure how to respond. After an entire day of hanging out together at various port towns along the river, the pair get in trouble with the police, resulting in a violent falling out. Lincoln returns to Memphis in his boat, looks up Monica, and faces his father's wrath. Meanwhile, John makes his way home as best he can, settles back into his routine as a disgruntled, sometimes ostracized layabout, and finally seeks out another sexual encounter -- one with a decidedly unexpected conclusion. Memphis native Sachs cast the semi-autobiographical The Delta with non-actors after trawling the pool halls and watering holes of his hometown for several months.