Young Hearts (c) Strand Releasing
Film: Young Hearts
In Cinemas
It’s been a while since I have found a relatable and honest portrayal of first gay yearning. Not since 1996, to be exact. That was the year the British film Beautiful Thing was released, and it was the first film in which I felt there was true representation of the confusion and joy that middle school-aged gay kids feel, with (and this is important) a happy ending. Some films have come close, namely Lukas Dhont 2022’s Close, but that film was emotionally draining as it added a tragic layer to it even before any happiness was even broached. Now thirty years since Beautiful Thing, we finally get a worthy successor in Young Hearts, a Belgian film in which 14-year-old Elias’ (Lou Goossens) life is turned upside down when handsome Alexander (Marius De Saeger) moves in across the street, and a tentative friendship blossoms. When Elias asks Alexander, who has moved from Brussels with his widowed father and young sister, and can speak French (swoon) , if he has ever been in love, Alexander says he has, with both a girl and a boy. This unleashes a flood of prepubescent feelings in Elias, who has had a steady girlfriend, but starts to wonder if that was what was missing in his young life. There is some external drama, including a trio of bullies (aren’t there always?) as well as Elias’ strained relationship with his father, a local singer finding fame in his first album, who doesn’t seem to notice the change in his son’s demeanor. But like most of these coming-out dramas, the biggest obstacle to Elias’ happiness is Elias himself. What makes this film an important watch for kids is the empathy our young hero gets from the most unexpected places, which may not be the case for many kids looking for acceptance. But I’d rather have an aspirational blueprint of positive reactions than the brutal reality of homophobia. Goossens is believably expressive and open-hearted as Elias while De Saeger, who could have just made Alexander a cool Chalamet of desire, has some fine moments of understanding too. Yes, these are cis white actors, but director Anthony Schatteman does provide diversity in their friend group, which is nice. There are some over-idealized moments involving beautiful rural landscapes (who couldn’t fall in love in this environment?), and there’s even an arc devoted to Romeo and Juliet, but maybe not in the way you think it will be. This is truly a sweet, heartfelt and inspiring film one needs as a tonic to the weight of our current reality. It’s the closest thing to TV’s groundbreaking Heartstopper we have for the big screen, making it essential gay cinema.
Misericordia (c) Sideshow and Janus Films
Film: Misericordia
In Cinemas on Friday, March 21
There’s always something subversively David Lynchian hiding in Alain Guiraudie’s films, whether it’s the possibility of a gay serial killer in Stranger by the Lake or a homeless kid suspected of being a terrorist in Nobody’s Hero. In his latest film, Misericordia, which is Latin for compassion, Jérémie (Félix Kysyl), a big city chef, is returning to the small French village of his childhood after hearing about the death of the town baker. The villagers are immediately suspicious of his arrival, thinking he might be sniffing around to take over the bakery. The baker’s widow, Martine (Catherine Frot), is happy to see Jérémie, as she knows he might have had a deeper relationship with her husband when he was young. The baker’s son, Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand), however, thinks Jérémie is actually wooing his mother. Add to this Father Grisolles (Jacques Develay), the village priest who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time in the forest searching for mushrooms, as well as Walter (David Ayala), a man whom Jérémie is seemingly obsessed with. When one of these people mysteriously disappears, Jérémie is the main suspect, which leads to some Hitchcockian plot twists that turns the movie into a comedy of manners more than a suspenseful mystery. I liked Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake, for which Misericordia feels the closest to in themes, including an unreliable main character whose gay identity seems to be the impetus of some shady decisions. Like the films of Pedro Almodóvar, his gay characters are as flawed as the straight ones. There is something giddy about this film, once it becomes clear that it was heading more towards melodrama, which includes the funniest appearance of an erect penis ever in a mainstream film. It is a slow burn, as Guiraudie’s films usually are, setting up relationships, misunderstandings and dubious morality before the inciting action finally gets the plot going. Félix Kysyl is a blank slate for most of the film, as Guiraudie wants the audience as clueless of his motives as the villagers. The rest of the actors have fun with their roles, especially the veteran Frot (a César Award winner for Marguerite). Enjoy the ride.
The Parenting (c) Max Original
Film: The Parenting
Streaming on Max
The horror comedy franchise gets a rainbow upgrade with The Parenting, Craig Johnson’s silly all-star Max Original haunted house film in which demons, jump scares and (unfortunately) vomit are plentiful. Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) are a cute gay couple who have rented a huge house in the middle of nowhere for their parents to meet. Rohan’s adopted parents (Brian Cox and Edie Falco) are upper middle-class while Josh’s parents (Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris) are blue collar, and the awkwardness is palatable. But all this takes a back seat once the evil presence is summoned (by the wi-fi password, the funniest running gag) and starts to wreak havoc on the families, who have nowhere to run (a convenient plot snowstorm just happens to be passing by). The script by Kent Sublette is pretty pedestrian with the families at first denying the fact that crazy stuff is happening, even when one of the character’s head turns 360 degrees around or a spirit contorts its body into that overused backwards spider walk that has lost its effectiveness. I did like the gay element to the story, with the comedian Dodani and the actor/model Flynn (he just played Marlon Brando Off-Broadway) making a likeable couple, although Josh does at one point have to admit he is hotter (and one year younger) than Rohan. For a while there, the whole haunting does seem to be a metaphor for the stress of meeting your partner’s parents (the title’s play on this is no accident), but once the script finally explains why these things are happening, it doesn’t stray from the familiar. The real reason to watch The Parenting is for its overqualified cast, including Max alums Cox (of Succession), Falco (of The Sopranos) and Kudrow (of The Comeback), who don’t invest a lot into their characters, but land a lot of the jokes. Cox, in particular, is especially game for the physical comedy of it all and seems to be having a fun time. Vivian Bang has some hysterical moments as Rohan and Josh’s friend who crashes the party and turns out to be the only one with any ghostbusting skills. But if you have Parker Posey (in the current season of Max’s The White Lotus) in your cast, even as a glorified cameo as Brenda, the Airbnb owner, she will steal the film, especially when, as per usual with a Posey character, she gets to do some outlandishly loopy stuff. The Parenting doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it has a couple of good scares, a handful of funny jokes and a nice gay love story. Sometimes, that’s all you really need.
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