Review: Close

Image courtesy of A24.

Lukas Dhont's "Close" - a Cannes award winner about two Belgian boys whose friendship could be described as being "like brothers" or maybe even something more - is a well made and deeply sad story of how societal conditioning can lead to tragedy. 

The film is very well made and acted - especially by its two young leads Eden Dambrine (who portrays Leo) and Gustav De Waele (who plays Remi) - and often gorgeously shot, even if it doesn't know exactly where to go next after a tragic scene occurs about midway through the picture.

As the film opens, Leo and Remi are about as close as friends can be. When we first meet them, they are playing some sort of game and then running through a field - an action repeated in the picture along with the numerous and impressive up-close shots of them riding bicycles - back to Remi's house, where Leo is considered an extra member of the family. The boys sleep together in the same bed and an overhead shot almost portrays them as if they are spooning in their sleep.

What exactly is their relationship? Leo and Remi are at that age where sexuality doesn't quite come into play when examining a close friendship. There's nothing overt in the film to suggest that the boys have sexual feelings or attractions for one another, and yet there's nothing dispelling this notion either. The relationship is kept intentionally vague.

It's not until some boys - probably conditioned by reactionary parents - and even a few girls begin to question whether the boys are a "couple" that things start to go wrong. During a later sleepover, Leo seems more hesitant to share a bed with his friend, and on one particular morning Leo rides his bike to school alone without waiting for Remi. When questioned about it on the playground, Leo's attempts at shrugging it off lead to a scuffle between the two boys.

Shortly thereafter, something tragic occurs - and frankly, it's difficult to discuss the rest of the movie by tiptoeing around it because it informs everything that comes afterward. Suffice it to say that Leo continues to try to move further away from the life he once led, becoming more interested in beefing up his skills on the hockey team, of which he is at this point a member. His teammates - and new friends - are among those who previously questioned his sexuality. 

His relationship with a member of Leo's family becomes a focal point during the final half of the movie. While this relationship yields the most genuinely emotional scenes in the movie, it's also one in which the filmmakers struggle slightly in terms of conveying how the audience is meant to feel about it. After a powerful - and long awaited - confession during a car ride, the other person in the car reacts in a manner that you'd expect in a movie, but this is then followed by a reconciliation. I'm not sure the entire exchange would be handled so simplistically.

But despite this, "Close" is a powerful, sad, and often lovely film to behold. It's filled with gorgeous camerawork - especially, as noted before, the scenes of the boys running through the field or riding their bikes to school together - solid performances, and a warmth that is, of course, later replaced by the melancholic events that follow. 

The film has been embraced by Cannes jurists and critics alike, and it's not hard to see why. This is a moving film that likely speaks to the lived experiences of many people who have been heartbroken or had their lives altered by the forces of social pressure. Even if its final scenes of reconciliation in the face of a tragedy feel a little forced, this is a picture that will likely affect those who experience it.