Drew M

Completely subjective, but I loved this very much. Twisted, strange, yearning, very beautifully shot. It felt like watching a sociopath fall in love for the first, last and only time. I understand this won't appeal to everyone, and I worry its 'shocking' moments (which were not particularly shocking to me) may capture people's attention too much and overshadow the rest of it. I think you have to be in the right frame of mind to watch it, and make up your own conclusions. Allusions to Plein Soleil are there, but this felt less about class and more about desire, rejection and 'othering.' 4 stars because some of the humour felt a bit out of place, to the point where it made me wonder "what is the intended tone here?" but I think that was part of the charm. The groundnote and what I truly enjoyed was how Oliver seemed to have his own version of twisted love for Felix, despite his lack of empathy. I felt like I was watching a broken, emotionally stunted person grapple with desire and the yearning to be in the pool of sunshine that someone like Felix casts. And then the real ensuing guilt after he snaps, envious and toxic and out of control, and destroys that pool of sunshine he loved so much. The final scene felt like a pyrrhic victory to me at least. An empty pantomime of happiness after getting what he seemed to really want, but it didn't ring as 'real' to me. Over a decade later all Oliver seemed to want to talk about was Felix, and how he 'didn't love him'. I think he definitely did.