Three Months

It's bugged me a little when we have fine teen films like Never Rarely Sometimes Always, or even Plan B, whose delicately deals with their serious theme without falling into too archetypical, and then we have Three Months.

I know it's an MTV film, hence being light and glittery has to be in its repertoire. However, the crammed of the late 2000's/early 2010's teen films clichés into the narrative doesn't necessarily make it more than just average at best.

This movie was a little bit on the sad side but it did clearly show a modern-day take on Hy-Vee. It was nice to see a show that provides some hope when it comes to dealing with HIV and AIDS. Some recent shows like it's a sin have concentrated more on the pandemic when it first came to light back in the 80s and 90s and how would that time it was viewed as a death sentence. Today there are some fantastic Pharmaceuticals out there that can lower your viral load to undetectable which also means untransmittable, and can allow for a long and prosperous life. Troye Sivan did a great job of acting especially for somebody who is relatively new to movies. I enjoyed the movie even though I was a little bit sad at the end but I won't give a spoiler.

Not sure what happened but it's like half a movie... like they couldn't be bothered to finish it off properly. Shame as what it does it does pretty well and the acting it top notch. Sort of doesn't know what to do with itself after solid early premise. So the experience is a fade out to black and feeling a little short changed. The drama the dialogue the storyboard lacks purpose and definition by the third act. Troy's Sivian show real premise throughout and holds what is provided together with gusto and confidence. The soundtrack is also classy lofi and non pretentious. I get that the movie probably didn't want to get to gritty, too dramatic, too generic or predictable but it ends up feeling too light weight for me by the end.

Content

Premise: A boy finds out that his one night stand is HIV positive, and his test result comes out in three months. 'Three months' documents his daily life and emotional state of those three months. When I read the plot summary, my first thought was 'is this gonna be another tear-jerker soap opera?'. It's my personal analysis, and it may be wrong; however, LGBQ awareness movies tend to be emotional, melancholy, and grey. 'Three months' does not scream the message, but it's still strong and powerful. The movie is not preachy about HIV awareness or does not describe Caleb as a sad misunderstood teenager.

Form

This is all possible because of how director Frieder chooses to tell the story in a composed way. There are not many scenes showing emotions of characters too directly. The lines are witty and short, and they do not overdo it. Writers really keep it simple but genuine and honest. It hits harder after the movie than during the movie. Emotions linger and resonate like afterglow. Photography, colors, and editing are very modern and young. Summery pictures and pastel colors allude to Florida and youth. Sivan's acting is something. He's so sincere that Caleb feels like a real person. I'm not sure he's a skilled actor, but I could tell that Sivan is telling his story in the movie.

Overall, quite a pleasant movie and refreshing for the subject matter it covers, to a fault almost. It's nice to see a movie about HIV that isn't all doom and gloom - at the same time, the film feels weirdly low-stakes as it tends to undercut any narrative tension by always trying to downplay the seriousness. The film's central theme - waiting - isn't a very dynamic action, and so the movie just kind of plods along, from scene to scene. Some supporting characters feel underdeveloped, and so some of the dramatic moments later in the film feel unearned. As a comedy, however, it works well - no particularly outrageous scenes, just a steady stream of chuckles. The central love story is lovely, with some nice chemistry between Caleb and Estha.

Troye Sivan shines in the comedic moments of the film and seems very comfortable on screen, although he struggles just a bit with some of the story's more serious scenes. He really makes the character his own - it helps that he's pretty. All supporting performances are serviceable, Brianna Tju and Viveik Kalra play their roles well. A delightful debut by writer/director Jared Frieder!

I recommend watching it - it's nice, simple, touching, amusing, heartfelt, and we get so few queer films like it.