Lukas Dhont’s gorgeously-shot Cannes prize-winner shows boys navigating the war zone of adolescence. Up for a Best International Feature Oscar, it’s almost certain to lose to Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front, which is a crying shame (of the two films, Close is unquestionably the more touching and topical).
13 year-olds Rémi and Léo (played by two preternaturally expressive newcomers, Gustave De Waele and Eden Dambrine) are best friends and neighbours in rural Belgium. During sleepovers they cuddle and nuzzle unselfconsciously. Léo (who wouldn’t look out of place in Bambi’s forest) seems the softer of the two.
When the pals start high school though, Léo’s born-yesterday smile fades. The boys get asked if they’re “a couple”. They are constantly compared to girls (a typical comment: “You look tense, do you have your period?”) The link between homophobia and misogyny is clear. The big question: what will Léo sacrifice, in order to pass as one of the boys?
Something dramatic happens in the middle of this movie that makes it hard to discuss. I’m all for preserving the element of surprise, but some viewers need protecting. I’d advise anyone young and vulnerable to google “Close, spoilers” before heading to the cinema.
Suffice to say, as a portrait of teen fear and self-loathing, Close trumps Florian Zeller’s The Son. Rémi and Léo talk like real kids (key moments between the boys were improvised) and their confusion feels authentic. One or both of them may be gay. One of them may be suffering from a mental health issue that has nothing to do with their sexuality. It’s left completely open. We just know that one has a pattern of withdrawing to the bathroom when he’s upset and that when he hurts, we feel torn apart, too.
31 year-old Dhont became a controversial figure when his debut, about a trans ballerina, was accused of being “the most dangerous movie about a trans character in years”. Close, meanwhile, has been described as manipulative. The director’s intentions seem entirely honourable, however. It’s more that, in the third act, things get a tad repetitive, overblown and ho-hum. Dhont’s better at starting stories than finishing them.
But don’t miss the chance to meet Léo and Rémi, or their families. Émilie Dequenne, the impassive star of 1999’s Rosetta, is superlative as one of their mums, conveying endless grief via bone-dry eyes. If you find it cathartic to sob over well-drawn characters, this sad tale is within hugging distance of being an absolute joy.
