Tuesday, May 21, 2013
LATTER DAY GAYS
Today's film was
A young Mormon goes on his mission with another more experienced elder and in the companionship of the mission they fall in love.
Each has had prior experience as a gay man but, somehow, have been able to suppress the fact that the Mormons don't like to have gay missionaries or, for that matter, gay members.
This is a twist on the usual idea that a Mormon discovers he is gay and is stuck in the identity crisis.
In this case both young men, one more than the other, somehow expected to slide by the rules but the fact of their relationship takes things to a crisis point.
This is not the first film about gay Mormons. The extremely popular Latter Days comes at it from a different direction.
This film is more respectful, in a way, of the seriousness of the mission, the young men who want to be good Mormons and the kind of interaction missionaries have with their prospects.
This makes it a little boring on the drama end. But it shows how the deep roots of belief can operate in conflict with the deep roots of sexuality.
I do not imagine that this would be a very popular "gay film" and it certainly could not be a popular Mormon film. It falls between but has its own distinct message.
The guys in the film are very good at carrying the necessary balance of faith and feeling.
I know some gay Mormons and there is never a happy outcome to this confusion. The Mormons are not going to move, the Mormon closet is very unhappy, and the gay men or women who find themselves leaving the family based religion experience a lot of pain.
It would be easy to say that the hocus pocus of the church should be obvious, just come out. But the Mormons have wisely embedded their belief in daily family life. To leave the church is to leave one's family.
There is an even tone to all of this film. Kind of a flat line. I actually liked the quietness. It helped me relate and be a part of it.
I am glad that I saw it. It was educational in a good way. I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
