A Very Serious Person

A story about some unusual people in unusual circumstances. This feels like a Hallmark/Lifetime kind of a film, which, then becomes a very personal opinion on whether the film is good or bad. We will come to that later. The IMDb summary of the film rightly describes it as a coming-of-age tale about a showtunes- and old Hollywood-obsessed boy and his effete Danish mentor. The two bond and teach each other lessons about self-acceptance over the course of one magical summer on the Jersey Shore.

Ailing Mrs. A is traveling with her 13 year old grandson Gil to their summerhouse where the caretaker Betty completes their makeshift family. Mrs. A doesn't get along well with nurses, so its a surprise when a Danish origin male nurse Jan, a no nonsense man, normally serious about his job, enters the scene, they both hit it off quite well. Gil adores and worships his grandmother but also acts out sometimes knowing very well that she is not going to live long and he is just ignoring this. With Jan entering the picture he feels he has an opportunity to talk about his interests and passions. Jan admits he is gay while Gil thinks he may also be, yet is unsure about liking boys. The duo start hanging out where Jan becomes his protector and mentor teaching him how to swim, while sharing their friendship with a salon owner. Jan teaches Gil about compassion for his grandmother and presents Gil with a perspective on maturity and prepare him for the fact that he may have to go live with distant relatives in Florida. IN a weird finale, when the grandmother dies, Jan somehow feels that he is better suited to take care of Gil rather than the relatives but soon his friend and Gil himself, help him make sense of the situation.

This is actually a very decent film to watch. How do you even prepare a young teenager for the death of his grandma, when she has ben the only thing he has. The director uses the basic premise to deliver a message of sensibility and mindfulness in the face of loss. Interestingly, I just found out that the actor playing Jan is a famous drag queen and also happens to direct the film. You have nothing but respect from me. The film in the beginning starts to feel more theatrical than a film but once you get used to it, its all good. It has a lot of references to old movies an actors, clearly because this interest has been used primarily to establish that Gil could be gay. There are some good scenes around educating folks about self acceptance, sexuality and not rushing into things. To be fair, this is not really a coming of age film per say because we spend little time in establishing and making issue of the fact of anyone's homosexuality, but the larger issues is having to grow up emotionally, when the only person you have ever loved and idolized is dying, you are a teenager and are are also going through a lot of questions regarding sexuality. The film is interesting overall with Jan, Gil and actually every actor doing a great job of portraying their character and staying true to the film. I am not sure the hook up scene between Jan and a visitor was needed. Not sure of that added anything to the film, except maybe show that you can still find a hint of love in the most unexpected places. (5.5/10)