#we need to talk about kevin 2011

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

a handful of my favourite letterboxd reviews

bonus: the iconic, the legendary, the sensational ~

[privartidahos]

nightmare found family (they're so crazzzzzzzy! love them!!!)

[velveys]

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

[escapismthroughfilm]

⋆˚We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. Lynne Ramsey⋆˚

[adamwatchesmovies]

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

It’s impossible to imagine anyone calling We Need to Talk About Kevin their favorite movie. Even saying that you ‘enjoyed it’ would raise some eyebrows but that’s because it’s so well made. Watching it alone would be nearly traumatic but if you catch it with a group of friends and set aside some time to talk about it (the movie’s title says you should, after all), it will be an illuminating experience you won’t forget anytime soon.

Once a successful travel writer, Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) has lost everything and now lives alone. Hated by her neighbors for a crime her son Kevin (played by Ezra Miller) committed, she thinks back to his upbringing, trying to figure out where things went wrong.

If We Need to Talk About Kevin has any flaws, it’s that 1) the story is unpleasant and 2) you can sort of piece together some aspects of it before the big reveal. I'll argue these flaws should not be held against the film because they're necessary.

There was no way to make We Need to Talk About Kevin a good ol’ time at the movies. Kevin is a horrible collection of cells. He is a manipulative psychopath whose life has brought nothing but misery to everyone who ever met him. When he dies, the world will be a better place. No insult you throw his way is too harsh and no punishment he endures could ever be agonizing enough.

As for that second “flaw”, the film’s predictable “reveal” during the final act, I’m going to argue that Kevin's crime is a forgone conclusion. The point of the movie is that we are revisiting the past through Eva’s eyes. She's exploring her memories, wondering how she could've missed all the hints that we see. It allows you to understand and maybe even sympathize with her, which is a difficult thing because you don’t like Eva. You might not want her to end up in the darkest, most painful circle of Hell Kevin is sent to, but even before her son completely destroyed her life, she wasn’t a particularly nice person, a good mother or a good wife (Eva's husband is played by John C. Reilly) either. Ever wonder how the parents of someone who overdoses on drugs, becomes a serial killer or abuses their spouse must feel when they learn that what they knew would happen actually happens? That's what We Need to Talk About Kevin is about.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is difficult to watch but in the end, it all builds to something so unexpected you have to pause and think about it. Look at the way director Lynne Ramsay uses the colour red, for example. It's an obvious choice for a story about violence like this one, but the true meaning of the colour is not obvious. It triggers memories or ties flashbacks to scenes in the present. Noises are used similarly. There’s the sound of sprinkler systems that come back over and over. You don’t know why at first. When we find out, that information recontextualizes everything. You're so busy thinking about the way the story flows and its themes that you nearly overlook the other technical aspects. The performances are the kind that are so convincing you'll overlook them. You forget you're watching actors; you just see the characters they're playing. Although the emotions the film raises are negative, the techniques used to generate them is nothing short of masterful.

Throughout We Need to Talk About Kevin, you’re unsure about how the mother and son feel about each other. Every fiber of your being tells you that Eva hates Kevin and that he hates her. You hate Kevin too, so how could she not? Everything he’s ever done has built up to a deliberate choice that has ruined her life. It's like everything else was just collateral damage. It was always solely about her. They are always on each others’ minds and the last scene makes you wonder. To me, it seems as though Kevin has kept ties with his mother just so he can continue to torment her, just so he can see his hard work pay off. If he can get her to say “I hate you”, he’s won. Sensing this - after all, Eva knows him better than anyone - she puts up with him. The big question is whether, in that final scene, something has changed. The last time we see Kevin there’s something different about him. Certainly on the outside. On the inside? It’s hard to say. Maybe he’s realized something’s about to change and he now realizes just where his actions are about to bring him. Maybe it’s just a new tactic. Maybe hatred has turned to love. Maybe there was love there all along. Figuring out what's actually happening in that final moment is what this movie is ultimately about, which makes it a powerful experience. I said powerful, not necessarily enjoyable.

As time passes, I find myself thinking about We Need to Talk About Kevin a lot. Are the thoughts loving? I'm not sure. Perhaps they're similar to the thoughts parents of terrible children have about their kids; yeah you hate them, but you know, they’re your kid so one way or another, you love them too. (February 25, 2022)

[sophaeros]

thinking about how. kevin did his massacre in the exact same white button down as the one he wore for dinner with eva.

[celine-song]

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) dir. Lynne Ramsay

[inolongerhavealilacname]

“We need to talk about Kevin”, 2011

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Based on “We need to talk about Kevin” by Lionel Shriver

[bluebloodlust]

INTRO POST 3:

Haii I go by blue bloodlust online and I'm newww to tumblr O.O

I'm unronicly introverted and socially anxious, although i like to act all confident online, don't let it fool you haha

General:

I’m 13 (2011)

I’m from Northern California

I love everything emo, scene, or alternative O.O

I’m an INTJ [introverted/intuitive/thinking/judging]

I love watching youtube 3:

I <33 scene and emo

My favorite colors and red and black

Bands/singers I like:

The Devil Wears Prada,

KMFDM,

Leathermouth,

And Nicole Dollanganger :)

Movies/shows I like:

Zero day,

Bang Bang You’re Dead

We Need to Talk About Kevin,

Young Sheldon,

The Glory >:3

[starvingmedievalpeasant]

We Need To Talk About Kevin - 2011

Posters In English Featuring Ezra Miller Collection Part 2

[kurjakani]

I watched we need 2 talk about kevin and looked it up on tumblr to see if theres any interesting discourse on the depiction of Kevin etc but its just kevin x reader stuff for this movie from 2011 and thats the most tumblr thing EVER

[a-state-of-bliss]

Ezra Miller in ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ (2011)

[rollercoasterwords]

as a movie person, any movies to recommend? 👀

i’ve seen your horror recs so preferably other genres if possible

no horror does eliminate like 80% of my movie recs lmao but yeah!! some non-horror faves:

everything everywhere all at once (2022)

the handmaiden (2016)

labyrinth (1986)

the last unicorn (1982)

greener grass (2019)

children who chase lost voices (2011)

but i’m a cheerleader (1999)

heathers (1989)

the iron giant (1999)

we need to talk about kevin (2011)

mysterious skin (2004)

she’s the man (2006)

clue (1985)

where the wild things are (2009)

return to seoul (2022)

donkey skin (1970)

return to oz (1985)

earth girls are easy (1988)

[she-wolf09231982]

Chapter 2-Fare Thee Well

Summary: Sam, Bobby, and Dean are about to face a nemesis more clever and adaptable than any they've encountered thus far. As the world around them becomes increasingly perilous, the resources they've come to rely upon have been stripped away. They will find themselves totally outmatched and outgunned and pushed to their limits, with no one to rely on but each other…that’s when they decided it’s time to bring you back to the team. In the meantime, Sam is literally battling the Devil internally after being roomies with him in Hell.

Castiel has inadvertently released Leviathans while defeating the Archangel, Raphael. With the Apocalypse averted, Castiel was again resurrected by God with new powers after absorbing all the souls of Purgatory, resulting in his powers reaching a level much higher than that of an archangel, but at a high price: the powers that the evil souls granted him had gone to Castiel's head, causing him to proclaim himself as the new God.

Leviathans (Ancient Sea monsters that were the first beasts created by God that harvest humans as a food source) become an imminent threat where Sam and Dean are required to team up with a resurrected Castiel (Angel), Meg (Demon), Crowley (King of Hell), and Kevin Tran the prophet to overthrow the Leviathans and their front-runner Dick Roman with a weapon designed by God.

Author Note:  Story starts during Season 2 (2006) then flashes forward to the beginning of Season 7 (2011)

Latin to English translations

*Carpe noctem-Seize the night

~~~~~~~~

Bobby is usually on point when it comes to knowing Sam and Dean. When he told you Dean would get past the fact that you were a witch, he was dead wrong. Dean’s resentment of you outweighed his ability to forgive you and has been giving you the cold shoulder since he found out about you a few days ago.

The air was heavy and awkward when each of you were in the same room. Whenever you try to speak directly to Dean, he’d ignore you and speak to Sam instead, replying with snide and sarcastic responses such as,

“Did you hear something, Sam?” or “I’m sorry, Sam, did you say something?”

Sam would roll his eyes each time while you release an irritated and defeated sigh. Dean was obviously upset, but his petty behavior towards you was getting to be too much… for you and all involved. Until day four of his spiteful performances, Dean ghosted you when you came into the kitchen and attempted to place a piece of pie in front of him, Bobby had enough.

“Alright, Dean, get back in here and have a seat!” Bobby bellowed at him.

Bobby’s voice stopped Dean in his place but remained with his back facing the three of you. Dean turned his head barely looking over his shoulder.

“What is it, Bobby?” Dean asked curtly almost sounding like a growl.

“Dean, we have to clear the air here.” Sam insisted.

Dean crossed his arms and scoffed, still facing away from all of you. Sam and Bobby exchange looks of exasperation. You sat quietly at the table with your arms folded with your eyes on Dean’s back. To Bobby, Sam, and Dean you were sitting there just listening and waiting. What you were actually doing was zeroing in on Dean’s internal movement. His heart rate, pulse, breathing, and his mental activity.

His aura was red hot, and his brain waves were surging with rage and rigor. The heat you sense radiating from him made you sweat in your chair. You zoned in so meticulously on Dean’s emotions you began to feel everything he was feeling. You finally decided to speak up while they were all talking over each other.

“Dean, your blood pressure is skyrocketing, please just take a breath. Sit with us. We can talk this out. Everything.” You proposed.

Dean turned finally acknowledging you.

“Y/N, I don’t need to talk about anything. I’ve heard enough to know that this,” he motioned to the group with his hand, “does not work.” He stated.

“What do you mean by ‘this,’ Dean?” Sam asked. Dean shot a look at him.

“I can’t hunt with someone that is one of the reasons we hunt, Sammy!” Dean yelled.

Bobby and Sam stared back at him.

Dean continued, “First of all, she withheld she was a witch for what? Over 25 years?? Makes me wonder what the hell else she’s been keeping from us.”

He looked at you, “How am I supposed to trust you to have my back…no, all of our backs if we can’t trust you to tell the truth?” He questioned.

You remained calm, not breaking eye contact or cowering back from his hostility. Sam and Bobby watched you with deer in the headlight eyes. Bobby secretly hoped you’d turn Dean into a rabbit or something to show him you don’t have to take his childish crap.

“Dean, this is exactly the reason why your parents didn’t want you to know about me. Because you would lose your shit and punch holes in the wall like you did the other day.” You finally replied.

Dean’s jaw clenched and lips pursed from both anger and embarrassment. He punched a hole through Bobby’s already deteriorating bathroom wall. His hand still bearing bruises and minor cuts. Dean isn’t proud of how he’s been acting out, but this deep-rooted sense of betrayal he felt triggered his inner monster, and he just couldn’t control it. He was angry that you were once someone that brought out the best in him and now the witch that activated his animalistic side.

Dean crossed over to all of you, placed his hands on the table and shifted his weight forward. His icy green eyes burning a hole into your soul.

“Y/N, as of right now, you won’t be hunting with us. I’ve been thinking about it a considerable amount, and weighed all the pros and cons, and it’s just not going to happen, babe.” He mandated.

Sam flitted a look of panic at Dean.

“Dean! Are you serious??” Was all Sam could say.

“Serious as a heart attack.” Dean replied without looking away from you tilting his head.

You move forward, leaning on your elbows meeting Dean halfway across the table without the fear of repercussions of getting too close.

“You don’t really want to do this, Dean.” You say softly but assertively.

Dean exposed a roguish smirk, “Oh, I know I do, babe. Your time with the Winchesters has come to an end.”

He pushed off from the table, slowly backed up, turned on his heel and exited out the front door without another word. You all hear the Impala speed off into the distance.

Sam stared into space with his hand over his mouth gripping his chin. Bobby started chugging his beer.

You stood up gradually, rolled your shoulders back and proceeded to where your jacket hung behind the door. Sam and Bobby watched you intensely, waiting for whatever might happen next. You sense their stares and quietly chuckle.

“You don’t have to gawk at me, you two.” You utter across the room.

Bobby and Sam looked at each other shaking off the shock of what just occurred.

“Y/N, I’m…Don’t think that-“ Sam tried to formulate a sentence, but you cut him off.

“Sam, don’t. It’s fine.” You reassure.

“No, Y/N, it’s not fine. Dean shouldn’t have the final say in this.” Bobby pushed.

“Bobby, it’s just easier this way. Dean will take every opportunity to throw this in my face if I stay. He’s right, we can’t hunt together like this. Someone will get killed. I’m just going to go.” You confirmed.

Sam’s eyes started to get glossy. He knew you would disappear, and that you were clearly capable of doing so. They may never see you again. Something Sam has never fathomed and quite frankly, whole heartedly disagreed with.

“But…where will you go?” Sam asked.

You gather your things into your leather messenger bag, don your jacket and beanie, and shoulder your backpack then turn towards Sam and Bobby as they walked over to meet you at the door. Sam towered over you when he reached you. You look up at him.

“Don’t worry about me, Sam.” You say confidently with a weak smile.

With Sam in close proximity of you, you fuse to his current sensations he was feeling.

“Heartache, hurt, sorrow, desertion…his aura is dark blue and cold. He’s fighting back tears...” You reflect to yourself.

As the intensity of Sam’s sentiment increased, you felt more of his emotions within you. One tear shed from your eye.

“We’re gonna miss you around here, Y/N.” Bobby said.

You look at him affectionately, “Bobby, I will never forget you.” You embrace him in a bear hug, hating the thought of letting go.

“Yeah, Y/N, I…I really don’t think you should go.” Sam urged pushing down tears.

You look back at him with a smile.

“Sam, all of our paths will cross again. Until then, watch out for each other.” You raise your eyebrows at him as if to ask, “Ok?”

Sam nodded and pulled you in for a hug. Sam being 6’4, he practically absorbed you as he held you. Your ear right over his heart, hearing his beat accelerate as you stood there with him. It’s time…

You pull away from Sam and pat him on his chest over his heart.

“*Carpe noctem.” You whisper to him.

He flashed a faint smile at you then looked at the floor so you couldn’t see his tears beginning to fall. You turn and walk through the screen door, and onward to the dirt road. You walk without looking back as Bobby and Sam stood on the porch watching you literally vanish into the fog that was beginning to form.

~~~~~~~~

Five years later…

Dean and Sam are about to face an enemy craftier and more adaptable than anything they’ve encountered thus far as hunters. As the world around them becomes increasingly perilous, the tools and people they've come to rely on have been stripped away. The Winchester brothers have found themselves totally outmatched, outgunned and pushed way beyond their limits, with no one to rely on but each other.

You relocated to Chicago, Illinois after you left Bobby’s house that day. You tried to continue hunting, but you’ve been denied joining other hunters after Dean’s resentment spread like wildfire. He put the word out that you were a turn coat witch and was not to be trusted. His warning hustled through the hunting alliances, and nobody would work with you after that. You decided to apply to a local pub in the downtown area as a bartender and just live your life using your craft to do good for people who seek your help and not you seeking to help others.

You began to sense a shift in the planet’s balances one evening while you were working. Gravity seemed to be heavier, the air was less breathable, and everywhere you looked had a foggy filter to it. Something was wrong…

A new evil was released into the world…

A dense, violent element hovered in the atmosphere…

Something happened. You close your eyes to concentrate on this fierce aura you were sensing, but it was impossible to concentrate on what it could be.

Then suddenly, another sensation pushed into your thoughts. Someone nearby was seeking you out.

You can hear the thoughts of this person looking for you.

“She has to be here.” You hear him think to himself. His presence is very familiar.

You furrow your eyebrows when his presence hits you like a train:

“Sam?” you whisper to yourself.

Your eyes spring open and you gaze out into the room to see Sam Winchester pushing through the crowd looking around like a lost child searching for a responsible adult.

You bee line through the sea of patrons towards him. His back is turned towards you when you reach him. He backs into you almost stumbling, then turns meeting your resting bitch face expression.

“Sam?” You say briskly.

Sam’s mouth fell open, his heart filled with panic. You felt it.

“Uh…Hey, Y/N! What are you doing here??” Sam responded a little too enthusiastically.

You narrow your eyes at him not believing his little ‘what a coincidence’ act.

“Please, Sam, there’s no way you just happen to be in Chicago. Let me guess? Dean is here, too. Don’t tell me where, let me guess. He’s either at the pool tables, or he’s at the bar buying a cheap rail shot for a girl who’s pants he wants to get into.”

You start to scan the busy room for Dean’s presence. It didn’t take too long to locate the glow of Dean’s green eyes. (As kids that’s always how you were able to find him when you played hide and seek).

There he was at the bar hitting on a pretty blonde female, ordering what looked to be two shots of second-rate vodka and a couple of beer chasers.

“I knew it.” You scoffed. “What are you doing here?” You ask turning back to Sam.

Sam looked back at you alarmed.

“Uh…we’re just passing through.” Sam struggled to respond.

You lift an eyebrow at him as you cross your arms.

“Oh yeah?” You shot back unconvinced.

Suddenly you hear another voice behind you,

“Oh good. You found her.” Another familiar voice called out over the music.

“Bobby??” You shrill as you turn around facing a worn looking Robert Singer.

You looked back at Sam with a ‘care to explain?’ expression.

“Found me? So, you were looking for me.” You confirmed.

Sam tightened his jaw in frustration as he looked beyond you at Dean who just walked up.

“Oh…Guess you didn’t tell her yet, huh?” Dean asked after seeing your irate expression.

Sam shook his head.

“Tell me what?” You snapped with arms still crossed.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, both letting out a long breath before looking back at you.

~~~~~~~~

After you finished your shift, Sam, Dean and Bobby accompanied you to your apartment just above the bar you worked at. You made a pot of coffee since the rest of this evening was sure to be a long one with this sudden appearance by the Winchester brothers. You give them each their own coffee mug with all the coffee condiments they may have needed while Sam explained why they came looking for you.

You massage your temples after Sam completed his story.

“Sooo let me see if I’m understanding you right: Your friend, Cas, unintentionally released Leviathans from Purgatory and in the process swallowed them to defeat the Archangel, Raphael?”

“Yes.” Bobby responded.

“Right. And this Cas guy is traveling through the public water supply raising cane with a Leviathan multiple personality disorder.” You continue.

“Sounds like you got the gist of it, there, sweetheart.” Dean stated condescendingly.

You slowly bring your gaze to Dean. Your eyes still piercing and contempt rising inside, then your lips curl into a mischievous smile. You’re amused by his boldness since it was his fault you left in the first place. Now here he is, seeking your help to battle mythological sea monsters. You look at Sam.

“I’m sorry, Sam, did you say something?” You ask him. Sam rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

Dean chuckled sarcastically, “Ok I see how it’s going to be.” He said walking over to your fridge finding your beer stash and helping himself to two bottles.

~~~~~~~~

[vsthepomegranate]

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

by Lynne Ramsey

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those who are not aware, I have decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s Queer Cinema Syllabus and have officially started Unit 3: Faith and Religion. The films in Unit 3 are: But I’m a Cheerleader (2000), Prayers for Bobby (2009), Latter Days (2003), Blackbird (2014), The Wise Kids (2011), Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015)

Today I will be writing about

Blackbird (2014) dir. Patrik-Ian Polk

[Run Time: 1:39, Available on: tubi, Google Play, Lang: English]

Content Warning: suicide via razor blade, reaction to family finding the body does occur on screen

Summary: A young singer struggles with his sexuality and the treatment of others while coming of age in a small Southern Baptist community. (from IMDB)

Cast: *Julian J. Walker as Randy Rousseau *Mo’Nique as Claire Rousseau, Randy’s mother *Gary LeRoi Gray as Efrem, Randy’s best friend * Isaiah Washington as Lance Rousseau, Randy’s father * Kevin Allesee as Marshall MacNeil, Randy’s eventual boyfriend

__

Alright, so I feel inspired to talk less about my own connection to this piece, as I do to talk about how this feels like the first film that truly dips in towards BL territory. Since this syllabus was designed as a warm up to BL, I think it is worth discussing how Blackbird established some of the tropes we have come to know and love-hate in BLs, especially Thai BL. 

First off, this film has a lot of singing in it. Now, that said, THIS BOY CAN SING. I do not begrudge shows for including singing, I just don’t think every single actor in GMMTV’s rolodex needs to be handed a guitar and a microphone and told to roam free. And I think it is quite rare that the BLs can actually justify the inclusion of singing, whereas here we are following a choir boy in a Southern Baptist church living in a small town. Singing church songs on your way to school seems like a perfectly reasonable and justified thing to be doing.

This in and of itself would not be enough for me to say this is the first proto-Thai BL style film I’ve seen on this list so far. 

But, if you are familiar with Bad Buddy or My School President then I need you to know that Blackbird includes…

GAY ROMEO AND JULIET 

Which, since I started at BL and am actually working my way back to it through the syllabus, is probably why I started looking at this piece as the first of the films that gave me an established foundation in the kinds of tropes that existed in (at least) Thai BL. All of which to say, Blackbird is about a boy struggling to accept his sexuality, in highschool, with his two other friends one of whom is comfortably queer, who is crushing on the straight boy who is in an essentially side-couple relationship. 

We get a kid who wants to be an actor, we get a student play, we get the main character finding someone else to fall in love with when he realizes that the boy he is crushing on cannot reciprocate, we have singing, we have guitar playing, and we have high school…with uniforms, AND A (dream sequence) GAY BOY CUDDLE PILE. 

I swear to God, there is a scene where Marshall and Randy are watching the student film that Marshall created (that started out as one story and ended up being co-opted to instead focus on Randy, rather than the actual story they had been filming [hello Lomfon and Tien in La Pluie]) that plays so similarly to the Ongsa and Soon date in Episode 1 of Absolute Zero (one of two episodes of it I watched before dropping). They are together, on a blanket, at a school function, watching a movie, with their hands slowly creeping forward. 

Like, even the films in the coming of age section had some tropes that I recognized from BL, but I don’t recall them standing out as starkly as they do here. If you follow me, then you have been suffering the consequences of my Shadow brain rot, and even in that case (where I can’t yet qualify Shadow as a BL) I was noticing potential points of connection between Blackbird and Shadow around it’s themes. [which are about religion and queerness so like…go figure. Mainly that, when Claire catches Randy making out with Marshall in front of their goddamn house where anyone can see them (another check for the BL tropes), she calls in the pastor. 

The pastor who has the following conversation with Randy: 

Randy: “You think I’m possessed?”  Paster Crandell: “I think there is something lurking in you,” 

So let me drop another coin in the shadows as queerness bucket right now. 

What is so interesting to me about this film though is that for as much as I see the overlapping tropes between it and BL, complete with the kind of thrown together ending (imo) that I’ve come to find with a number of the BLs I’ve been watching. It doesn’t read like a BL to me. 

Like, if I had seen this film before I ever watched BL, I don’t know that I would have thought about it in relation to BL. I don’t know what vibes I get from BL, but Blackbird doesn’t give me those vibes. Maybe just cause it’s not the type I’m used to, but more likely, because of the severity of the consequences for some of these kids, and the cruelty at which they are shamed. Apparently, one of the minor plotlines of Blackbird is that Randy’s sister has been missing for 6 year, and as a result of her disappearance, Randy’s mother, Claire, has gone heavily in to her religion. So where before way back before Randy was born, Claire had dared her partner, Lance to kiss a boy. Now, she blames Randy for the disappearance of his sister. It is in a heated, emotionally intense moment, but for that moment Claire is so convinced that her missing daughter and all the pain and suffering that has happened to their family as a result is punishment for Randy’s sin of being gay. (Let’s not mention suicide is a sin, and Randy’s mother is perfectly happy to float the idea of killing herself at one point). 

More likely it is because I think this film is far more focused on follow the journey of Randy’s self-acceptance, and the decisions he makes around honoring his queerness and what that means for his religion, rather than a story about a boy who meets a boy and falls in love.

For/By/About 

Gay Trifecta. 

Blackbird is based off a book of the same name written by author Larry Duplechan, who is a gay man. The director of this film Patrik Ian-Polk is a gay man, and though he had a delay in making this film that required a recast of the main character, Randy, Patrik was able to find Julian J. Walker who is also an out gay man. Fun fact about Patrik, he was the creator of Noah’s Ark which is a show I have yet to see, but Ben has put on a number of lists. So I understand why this film may have ended up on the syllabus. I feel like this film is for gays in that I think if I Knew I was queer in in 2014 and saw this movie, I would probably need to hear the “God is love” style acceptance stuff. I think it is a testament to where we are now in terms of queer content that I can debate with myself about whether or not the level of cheese that comes from the Dad being cool with his son being gay being commentary to the straight audience about how queerness should be treated. But, I don’t think that is the case here, I think this is by and large a film for Black queer kids who are balancing on the edge of self-acceptance and their relationship to religion. 

Favorite Moment 

I am gonna cheat and say that I have two, but they’re technically connected so it’s fine. 

The first is a funny moment, which is when Randy, Efrem, and Randy’s dad are sitting in the waiting room of a clinic so Efrem can get STI tests done. I loved the way that Lance tried to broach the question about whether Efrem and Randy were a couple, and I loved the random confession from his dad that he’s kissed a dude before…with tongue. Like, it feels like such a real and funny moment to me, the random “I dabbled” confessions. 

The second, and the one that is actually my favorite moment, is when Randy asks Efrem if he is okay, for probably the thor time since he has seen him being thrown around at The Hill (where the gay boys in this small town in Mississippi go to fuck). And Efrem just can’t pretend anymore, and he breaks down for a quiet moment in Lance’s truck while Randy just holds him. I love that Lance gives them time, seeing what is happening, so that the boys can have a moment to just give and receive comfort, and that (and I think in part due to how chill Lance was about queerness) Randy and Efrem can just hold hands in the truck. I love love love love when boys get to be physically affectionate without it being perceived as romantic or gay. Which I know probably sounds counterintuitive because both boys are gay (but not dating), but it’s just like, a level of comfort that I feel like Randy would normally shy away from because he has been so desperate to appear straight. 

Favorite Quote

“Are you okay?” || “I wish you would stop fucking asking me that man, I’m running out of punchlines,” 

I said this when I was watching If It’s With You but I am such a fucking sucker for any character that masks their own pain, problems, or sadness behind a bright and happy mask. I loved Amane in IIWY, I loved Koichi in Eternal Yesterday, and I loved Efrem in this. I love that he holds himself comfortably, I love that he doesn’t make a big deal at all about the everyday traumas that his friends are subject to. Which is not to say he doesn’t care, and is to say that I feel like he is able to help make The Big Things feel manageable. Randy is struggling throughout most of the movie with the fact that he keeps having Gay Wet Dreams, he’s struggling with his own sexuality, and tossing his bed shets in the washing machine always feels (to me) like he is ashamed. Randy’s mother is in a deep bout of depression because her daughter has been missing for years and Randy often has to take care of her as a result.

These are, in my mind, Big Things, and I appreciate that Efrem can just come strolling on in to the house, laugh away the soiled sheets, come chatting happily with Claire even when she’s not responsive, and ask to finish off the cereal that’s in her bowl but that he knows she isn’t going to eat. I loved that he could give Randy a private moment to hang up more photos of his missing sister, but then turn around and start wrasslin’ on their walk to school. 

But I love even more that we see these moments where things don’t go so well for him, and how it chips away

Score 

7/10

I would have probably given this an 8 because some of the acting was not great, I didn’t like the rape fake out that they did, etc. But I feel like it’s quality tanked a bit at the end when Randy’s sister is found and when we get the Life Update from Dream!Marshall at the end. I feel like it served to undermine the severity of the situations at hand. That Marshall had killed himself after Leslie had killed herself, and he was given a two minute update about what the rest of his life was going to look like. Also, I am a Southerner and there was some accent work in there that felt too fake.