Yasmin Alansari

While not a perfect film, they/them has some really interesting premises and moments that I can't say I've ever seen portrayed in media before through this lens, and for that I think it deserves a certain amount of credit. I found myself thinking back on the characters and the really interesting framing days after watching the film, and it handled the LGBTQ elements with grace. This film takes an interesting perspective, showing how modern-day bigots can adopt a faux-supportive language and environment, while showing the facade breaking down when it really counts. How they handled Alexandra was one of my favorite elements, in a dramatic shower scene the cinematic language of a slasher turned transphobia into the true horror. The subsequent misgendering/handling of Alexandra early on in the film revealed their true intentions, as it soon became clear their veneer of acceptance was truly just a facade, no matter how much flowery supportive language they used. The strength in those moments makes me wish that they played up the unsettling sides to the camp even more, with some of the scenes (such as being handcuffed in the forest at night) not really playing into any of those strengths, leaving the theme and cohesion to suffer slightly. While realistically I'd rate this film as 4 stars, (a few moments felt a little stilted, cringy, or awkward, and some of the payoffs fell flat), the overwhelmingly negative reviews feel disingenuous to the actual quality of the film. I feel like it's easy to judge a film more harshly when handling a tough topic, so a mediocre film trying something different and perhaps challenging will be treated as a terrible one, while a film of the same caliber that just goes through the paces not trying anything new wouldn't get the same treatment. Overall, I think it deserves credit for trying something interesting and handling the topic with a certain level of care. I always enjoy films that make me retrospect and think about the setting and characters even after the film has concluded, so kudos to Logan for his debut! I hope to see more from him that pushes the envelope, and I hope this marks a trend for even more films that could attempt something similar in the future.