1985 (2018)

May 10, 2019 9:44 AM

Having been gone for three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian returns to his Texas hometown for Christmas, and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances to his conservative family.
posted by orange swan (1 comment total)

This one was one of the more quietly heartbreaking movies I've seen. Being silenced about who you are, about the problems you face, adds a whole new level of anguish and barriers to problems that are already inherently wrenching.

The first guy I ever loved was gay, and the scene with Adrian and his ex-girlfriend sitting side by side on her couch with her hurt, anger, frustration, and confusion, and his guilt, grief, fear, and repression, was so wrenching to see, and had me yelling, "TELL HER!!!!" at the screen. It was such a relief that he did eventually tell her, and that she not only accepted it but stepped up to be there for him in his need. What I wouldn't give to have had my situation gone similarly -- minus the AIDS of course.

Then of course there were all those scenes with Adrian and his parents and little brother. They're all going to get to a place of acceptance too... but they have so little time to do so.
posted by orange swan at 4:50 AM on May 11, 2019