Close (2022)

Is this story about two young boys who are simply good friends? Is there an implication of early homosexuality? Is the line between those things blurred? Or is that exactly the message, that the line is often blurred? This to me is the most interesting question of the film.

It’s easy drama when you have kids and raw emotion and dramatic life events. The story is dramatic for sure, but I am bothered by one of the key plot points in the film. Given everything we’re shown, I’m not sure Remi’s suicide is realistic or justified. Remi has seemingly healthy and connected parents, social skills, and an otherwise good life. He’s not teased at school for his relationship, Leo is the one who is overtly bullied for it. Crappy parents or some real adversity in Remi’s life would have made his actions more dramatical and believable, in my opinion.

In the end, is this just a story about loss? Or if there’s a message, what is it? Life goes on when you lose someone you care about? For a story as dramatic and thoughtful as this, I wanted a bit more out of it in the end.

Dambrine and de Waele turn in wonderful performances as kids, even all the supports are good. Camerawork is interesting, with almost every character in a medium shot and almost nothing further away from that. Even the hockey action scenes are shot very close. Not sure I can recall another film with such consistently intimate framing.