★★★
Written by Jayson Laniba
“Are you guys together?” a female classmate asks Eden Dambrine’s Léo in reference to his closeness with his best friend Rémi (Gustav de Waele). “No, we’re not together,” he nervously responds. He tries his best to explain his relationship with his friend as he gets bombarded with more questions: “We’re BFFs to the point that we’re almost brothers.” But his answer doesn’t seem to satisfy his classmates, who think that his intimacy with his friend equates to them being a couple. This serves as the breaking point in Lukas Dhont’s highly emotional, albeit manipulative coming-of-age drama.
In the film, we are introduced to thirteen-year-olds Léo (Dambrine) and Rémi (de Waele), two best friends who spend the long summer holidays together. Their closeness is depicted in pure innocent intimacy – running through fields of blooming flowers, playing in their secret spot as knights, and even sleeping together in the same bed most nights. Rémi is always by his side, no matter what. But things change when the two boys return to school, and everyone starts to question their relationship. The girls ask them if they’re a couple, hinting of a homosexual relationship. And this starts to cloud Léo’smind and taint the two boys’ closeness. Slowly, we witness as he puts a distance between him and his best friend. He starts to join ice hockey, he doesn’t talk to Rémi anymore at school, and even ditches their daily bike rides, crushing the heart of his friend. In one of the film’s most painful moments, he tells him to go away and blatantly ignores Rémi when the latter comes to visit and watch him play ice hockey.
Still from “Close” (courtesy of QCinema).
This is where this brilliant coming-of-age drama shines – its exposition in its first half of how the once-close relationship of its two protagonists turned cold and bleak. Penned by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens, the film’s depiction of the friendship between the two inseparable boys is sweet and tender. But as peer pressure comes into the picture, this is immediately put into test. It effectively showcases how gender norms in our society affect our own perception and forces us to accept how we should act according to what everyone thinks is appropriate for one’s sexuality. For example, Léo’s female classmates say girls can be clingy and affectionate to their female friends, but boys like him are not supposed to. It also shows how in today’s world, everyone seems to mind other people’s business as if it’s something they’re entitled to know.
Sadly, the film takes a surprisingly manipulative twist that ruins its brilliant first half. And while this doesn’t really make the entire film bad, it’s just disappointing that they’ve chosen this route because it ends up losing its steam right after. Still, the film remains engaging all throughout because of the strong performances of its cast. Gustav de Waele is simply brilliant as Rémi – a portrayal so heartbreaking and relatable at the same time. This is perfectly complemented by Eden Dambrine’s beautifully nuanced turn as Léo. He shines with those expressive eyes of his whenever he stares back at the camera. It feels like he’s asking us: “Was it my fault? Am I the one to blame?”
While its second half isn’t as strong as its mesmerizing first half, Lukas Dhont’s latest work is a gorgeously shot and superbly acted coming-of-age drama that will take your breath away, save for its ill-advised twist that comes along.