Lionel Worthing (Paul Mescal) has always had a special relationship with music since he was a child, able to feel it, see it, and manipulate it. It was this gift that took him in 1917 from the rural farm in Kentucky where he grew up to the Boston Conservatory to study music. It is here that he came across fellow student and composer, David White (Josh O’Connor). They had an instant bond and also weekly sexual trysts, almost falling in love. But soon the war broke out, and David was drafted and Lionel goes back the farm life. Couple of years later David returns to Boston and writes to Lionel asking him to join on a trip collecting and recording folk songs. Here they conjure their own private world of romance and pure music. Their devotion is expressed not so much in words but in the transcendent power of the songs they collect from the most ordinary of working people, achingly beautiful ballads that have been passed down by generations. But the mental scars of trench warfare have left their mark on David, while Lionel is frustrated by David’s lack of understanding of working-class life. They separate after this trip with Lionel writing non stop to David but he never gets a reply. Years move on and we see Lionel spend some time in Rome and then in London. In both places he finds a male and a female lover but leaves them both abruptly. When his mother passes away, he is back at the farm and goes to Boston in search of David. He is told he dies few years back and he should visit David's ex-wife. The meeting between the two is cathartic for them both. Years pass and we are now in 1980 where Lionel finally gets his hands on the cylinders in which him and David recorded those songs.
As mentioned before, this film needs a lot of patience and grace and trust me it will reward you. It's after a long time when I have really enjoyed a melancholic slow burner like this. It is told subtly, and with a studied quietness that both enchants and frustrates, a question the film itself eventually circles back to as if testing its own memory. Even the songs in the film have beautiful lyrics and it is all presented so gracefully. The narrative unfolds with a deliberate calm, tracing meetings, separations, and reunions across years and landscapes. The beauty lies in composure, where it is about longing for love, love for music and how it all fits together. Mescal portrays Lionel as inward and passive, a man whose extraordinary musical gift contrasts with his emotional reserve. O’Connor’s David is more animated, witty, and restless, and the film brightens whenever he is on screen. Together, they share an unforced chemistry that feels lived-in. The two lead characters do become physically involved, but they never really talk about their relationship. It's not the "love that dare not speak its name," but the love that dare not speak at all. That's why this movie is significant. I wish there was more of romance and love between the two but the film is also about music, so I get that. Everyone who sang in this film was excellent, so much talent, everyone had great singing voices. All this aside, if not for the visual spectacle and the absolute magical performances from its lead, this film could easily have fallen flat. I can still see not many folks going for the film. Also there I a lot of subtext in the film thats left unsaid, which can frustrate viewers. This is not going to be a film that gay audience is going to lap up easily. But it worked for me, a lot. (7.5/10)
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