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LOVE, SIMON
****
Dir: Greg Berlanti
Starring: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel
(US, 12A, 1hr 49mins)
A gay coming-out high school romantic comedy drama, Love, Simon is notable for its unashamedly mainstream treatment; the formula may be the same but it’s central character isn’t. Gay characters aren’t normally at the centre of mainstream releases, thankfully after the success of Moonlight last year, a shift is occurring.
Simon, played by Nick Robinson, is a high-school teen coming to terms with his sexuality. He is gay but has kept it a secret from everyone, going out with girls, pretending to be straight. When he discovers through an underground blog that someone else in his school is also gay, he starts to correspond with them, relieved in the notion that it’s not just him. An email flirtation begins and romance beckons until the emails are leaked.
Treading a fine line between cloying formula and witty and insightful glimpses into high school life, Love, Simon succeeds down to it’s heart. It has an unashamedly likeable lead in Robinson and great support from his fellow high-schoolers played by Katherine Langford and Keinyan Lonsdale. Classy adult support comes in the shape of David Cross and Natasha Rothwell as scene-stealing teachers. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel are the concerned parents, whose support and understated scenes hit home.
The film may stray close to cliché but narrowly avoids becoming too cloying, creating feelgood moments out of admittedly well-worn tropes with the genders reversed, and that is why this feels fresh and different. It is somewhat ridiculous that films like this have been relegated to arthouse fare or bereft of larger budgets and releases until now. Its heartening that this is happening, and if it makes money it will become ever more prevalent and more of these stories can be told. Director Berlanti’s film is witty, well-observed and unashamedly mainstream: there have been far less successful ‘traditional’ coming of age rom-coms. Love, Simon is worth loving.
words KEIRON SELF
Out now in cinemas
