Lilies Not for Me

Just witnessed the world premiere here in Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024. An unexpectedly beautiful film. I braced myself for tears but left with a smile. It's a heartbreaking exploration of the dark side of the queer history in 1910s and 1920s , exposing the horrors of conversion therapy and unethical medical experiments. Yet, it's also a stunningly tender portrayal of love, loss, and the complexities of human emotion. The 1920s setting is simply breathtaking; it evokes the same sense of longing and beauty as Call Me By Your Name. I applaud the film for balancing the harrowing depictions of queer history with heartwarming portrayals of love. A truly remarkable film. Kudos!

Honestly, I have nothing to expect from watching this, even lovey dovey scene or romantic storyline.

Usually, I'm looking through review here or spoiler from others from another web. But this time I decided to watch after I saw the trailer and boom!

I love it. I just don't enough understand the last scene though, and it make me wonder in positive ways.

Entire plot was more than shocking for me, and I even cannot predict what the next scene will be happened.

Good job for writer and director and the team for making this unexpected, beautiful movie.

Good job for writer and director and the team for making this unexpected, beautiful movie.

The actors did a beautiful job telling this story ( I'm a Fionn O'shea fan). The passion and romance between the actors was so beautiful to view. It's sad the mentality was like that back then towards homosexuals. The LGBTQ family of today needs to show more gratitude of the liberties we now enjoy/take for granted. WOW, this was a beautiful movie.

Errick, Memphis TN USA.

A truly beautiful film with moments of real darkness. The four lead actors are excellent, each bringing a genuine gravitas to their roles.

O'Shea is so very real as Owen. In his portrayal. He expresses a beautiful combination of vulnerability, sensitivity, and courageous defiance. Special mention goes to Hofmann who shines as bright as the sun in his role as the working class gem Charles.

This is a story about staying true to yourself in the face of hateful adversity, that the worst thing you can do is to cut yourself up to fit into society's intended role for you.

The movie would've been perfect if not for what I thought was a strangely out of character decision late in the movie and the ambiguousness of the ending. I mean I think I know the meaning of the ending and what was happening, but many appear to be confused by it.

Apart from the sudden love triangle, Lilies Not For Me is a mesmerizing and painful tale of a past which shouldn't have existed in the first place. The misguided notion of curing homosexuality by testicular transplant was captured so beautifully. Each and every actor gave their all. And Fionn probably gave his career best performance. Not a moment went by that i felt any of them were acting. The cinematography was as best as one can get in the industry. Direction top notch. Background music, the piece that completed the puzzle. I want to write so many things but I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone. It should be experienced without spoilers. One should understand the sacrifices so many Queer people had to make to just exist, to love, to live like a regular person.

Movies like this should be pushed for Oscars/BAFTAS/Golden Globes. Not Anora or Emilia Perez with their average performances.