National Anthem

Luke Gilford's 'National Anthem' is a film that displays some considerable skill on the part of its director and cast. There are scenes that capture how it feels when you fall in love; and also scenes that reflect the tender pain of departure when you wish you didn't have to go. The film seems to be often described as "beautifully shot". Some of this is achieved by simply putting physically attractive people in the landscape of the American west; but this is done in such a way that does successfully evoke the desired vibe. The problem is that the movie only seems to consist of the big emotional scenes on which a greater film might hang; they're not earned, and there's no dramatic structure outside the slightly indulgent display of happiness and hurt. I also grew tired of the fact that almost every line of dialogue is whispered, as if the film is trying too hard to ooze sensitivity from every pore. Finally, it's never clear how our heroes, a commune of sexually non-conforming individuals, are earning a living; this is part of the reason for the absence of drama in the movie, as the group's contact with non-members seems limited to the interaction of the lead character and his mother. A little more conflict would not have gone amiss.

"Dylan" (Charlie Plummer) lives with his mum and younger brother and works, where he can, in construction to put food on the table. One day, he picks up some work with a travelling rodeo circus - loads of aspiring Buffalo Bills. The thing is, most of them are gay and aside from roping the ponies they put on some drag shows and have all the concomitant relationship issues that you'd expect to find amongst a community that is tightly night and highly strung. He is welcomed by all, and swiftly takes a shine to "Sky" (Eve Lindley) who is in an open relationship with "Pepe" (Rene Rosado) and for the rest of this film we follow that turbulent scenario set against more of his own family's discord and his own desires to save his cash to buy an SUV and travel the land. There is something really quite visceral about Plummer's efforts here and the grand expanse of scenery is really well captured by the photography, but the story. It's all just too safe. It's sort of like inserting a straight dynamic into "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", only this really does lack for much humour and is, especially towards the end, a rather earnest and plodding melodrama that I thought just ran out of steam. It's a story about love, lust and acceptance, but delivers nothing we haven't seen before across an whole range of cinema genres. Indeed, it's almost compartmentalised to ensure the main plot has virtually nothing at all to do with the film's USP. It had the potential to rock the boat a bit, but I was really quite disappointed, sorry.

Dylan is a 21-year-old loner, saving money to buy an RV. He lives with his younger brother Cassidy, and his harried (financially and otherwise) mother, his father having abandoned the family. Dylan works as a casual laborer, hanging around an area with other men waiting to be picked up for a day's worth of work, often in construction.

Along comes Pepe, owner of a distant ranch, who hires several of them for 2 weeks' work. There, Dylan becomes enamored with Sky, a beautiful woman with a horse. Sky invites his to a rodeo, which turns out to be a gay rodeo, complete with evening entertainment of line dancing and drag shows. There, certain people find their version of "The Amrican Dream". Here is where Sky thinks Dylan can find "his people". Indeed, Dylan ends up staying at the ranch for a while, and even brings Cassidy along when their mother had other plans.

While this is a good introduction to a gay subculture, I am dubious about how flexible Dylan is to sexuality and sexual expression. After a specific early scene of Dylan imaging Sky on her horse, it seems too fast a jump for him to participate in a pansexual orgy. Also, Dylan seems too easy to convince to perform in a drag show, and does too well in lip-synch-acting for a rookie. Meanwhile, Sky is puzzling - she seems to be played as a male-to-female trans person, but just looks too gorgeous.

Side note: This is supposed to be present day, despite the very old RV Dylan is shopping for. I saw a flash of the newer progress pride flag.

A queer film about growing up and awakening. The plot is a bit barren, but it constructs a wonderful queer Eden in the red soil of the American outback. There is no homophobic violence or discrimination. Everyone can be themselves and enjoy an open sex life and fluid sexual orientation. Maybe it is too beautiful and gives me a distorted illusion? Huang Zitao recently said something in his variety show, "Tolerable Love," which is enough to make people laugh, but it always reminds me of Charlie's increasingly vivid character personality in various film and television works over the years: always a little silent, suppressing his thoughts or just looking at one place melancholy. Six years after "Jockey Pete", he reinterprets his relationship with a land; even though the settings of the two films are very different, he can still find the qualities he was first seen in. Tolerable Love.

I loved watching Charlie Plummers character discover parts of himself he didn't know where there. I smiled through most of this movie, it's a sweet portrayal of a first love and heartbreak. The soundtrack was incredible, done by Nick Urata from the band Devotchka. I found myself Shazamming almost every song. I'd love to get it on vinyl.

Where does this place exist? I want to go to a queer rodeo! Somewhere where everyone can safely be who they want to be. It was refreshing to watch people existing instead of living in fear of someone else's disapproval. Can we move towards a world like this? Where people mind their own business?