National Anthem

Charlie Plummer is one of the best American actors who's still largely "undiscovered." In LEAN ON PETE (2017), his quietly searing portrayal of a sensitive boy trying to lead a life of kindness in a cruel and grinding world helped to elevate that film to one of the twenty-first century's best. It's a movie that's not wholly different from NATIONAL ANTHEM, although gay director Andrew Haigh (WEEKEND, ALL OF US STRANGERS) took an asexual approach that left most of the queerness of Plummer's character as merely a subtextual potentiality. The potential parallels between the two films--combined with the fact that Plummer never disappoints in pictures as varied as SPONTANEOUS, KING JACK, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, and more--left me excited to see this movie. Unfortunately, while National Anthem is not a bad movie, it never really achieves the spark of greatness. It left me largely bored and disappointed.

Director Luke Gilford, in his feature film debut, strives for a few different emotional tones but doesn't really nail any of them. There are sex scenes, but they're shot with the strange lighting and angles of some 1980s music video, and so they're not really sexy. There are romantic scenes, but despite strong performances from Plummer as Dylan and his love interest played by Eve Lindley, there's not much chemistry--their romance is more of a coincidental shrug than anything that conveys passion. There are scenes of romantic conflict driven by Rene Rosado, the third part of the love triangle, but the development of Rosado's character is cliche and nearly nonexistent. There aren't any clear stakes to the question of "will they or won't they," so the conflict is dramatically inert and its resolution unsatisfying. The film is ostensibly a showcase of queer joy in the hidden world of gay rodeos in the American West, but it never feels very joyful, inspiring, or uplifting because there is extremely little humor or spontaneity; instead of taking in this world through Dylan's perspective, we see it in the form of docudrama photojournalism--colorful characters smiling for the camera--which gives us a nice glimpse of an unfamiliar world but never really lets us feel like we're taking part in it. There are scenes of coming-of-age family drama that perhaps come closest to achieving their goal because of how well Plummer plays off the actors portraying his mother and little brother, but even that drama is pretty tired and unremarkable. There are memorable moments, but they don't cohere into any strong thread. On top of all that, there's a psychedelic drug scene that is inconsequential; scenes of work that don't seem like they're depicting real jobs; a tragic action climax that is random, forced, and predictable; and, of course, the titular performance of the national anthem, which fails to add any real thesis to the movie's narrative sloppiness.

I've written many negative things, yet the movie itself was ultimately fine if unremarkable, and I'm willing to round up with my star rating because its heart is ultimately in the right place. I'm sure many people, perhaps especially young queer people growing up in rural America, will see a lot to relate to and enjoy in this movie, and I'm grateful for that. Personally, however, I was just kinda bored.

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.

This is one of the best queer films I've seen. It encapsulates so much depth on what it means to be a queer person in rural America. The generous nods to gender roles and how their conformity is limiting to one's true self bled through beautifully. Dylan was a gentle hardworking young person just trying to figure it out. Maybe a lot of viewers can see your younger selves in Dylan, just a person trying to carve out our small place in this insane world whilst fighting to stay authentic to our true selves. Outside the queer lens, the scenery of the NM desert was breathtaking and the Americana imagery and motifs were consistent throughout the film bringing forth an interdisciplinary film combining elements of western and queerness together.

So many things could have gone wrong in the film. But the humanistic approach in the performances, direction and story makes this film worthwhile as we see a young man learn to find his place in this world. Charlie Plummer as Dylan carries the film on his shoulders. He has screen presence even if his character has a subdued personality at first as we see he becomes a stronger, confident and even more empathetic man over the course of the film. Many will call this a LGBTQ+ movie but it is more than that. There is no coarseness, cockiness or irritating over-the-top histrionic behavior by any the actors. There is a respect among the characters as they relate to each other that will engross and help you understand them. Charlie's home life could have felt like a simplistic TV movie of the week. But director Luke Gilford and screenwriters Kevin Best, David Largman Murray as well as Gilford care about the characters too much to let that happen and they show why, for example, in Charlie's household that despite their problems as a family they are able to live in the same home with care and understanding. His mother played by Robyn Lively is not the stereotypical struggling mother. How she relates to Charlie and his younger brother and how she conducts herself is a revelation that pays off towards the end of the film. The biggest surprises and unexpected moments come when Charlie is hired to work on a ranch for a couple of weeks. He has been working odd jobs to help his family and save up for an RV. That RV is his dream and Plummer pulls us in to his character where we hope his wish for that RV comes true. The ranch job enables him save more money but the job becomes a life experience as he meets a cast of memorable characters. He is enchanted by Sky who lives on the ranch and is beautifully performed by Eve Lindley. She becomes a mentor to Charlie to help him be comfortable in his skin and proud of who he is. She is also a spark in his sexual awakening. Mason Alexander Park as one the inhabitants of the ranch sparkles with a knowing conviction in pivotal moments to guide Charlie. Even Rene Rosado in a supporting role avoids the conventional expectation of a rancher whose character takes an unpredictable path. This film is one of the most original in its storytelling among recent films with one of the finest ensembles so far this year.