Movie Review – Just a Question of Love (2000)
Original Title: Just une question d’amour
Overall Quality 4.0 / 5.0 (recommended)
Gay Content 4.5 / 5.0
Gay Positivity 2.5 / 5.0
University student Laurent (Cyrille Thouvenin) is terrified to come out to his parents. His cousin Marc came out to his own parents (Laurent’s aunt and uncle), who promptly kicked him out. Laurent’s parents, meanwhile, supported that decision. Laurent does not want to lose his parents, so he lives in the closet. In fact, he uses his best friend and roommate, Carole (Caroline Veyt), as a beard to deceive his parents.
So far, not very gay positive. We have the tired old story of the gay child in the closet, and we have parents who are rampantly anti-gay when it comes to their children (oddly, they seem amused by gay couples shopping for condoms at their pharmacy, but they resort to physical violence with their own flesh-and-blood). Laurent, for his part, is mostly okay with being gay. Except when it comes to his parents, and then he seems to feel deeply ashamed and disappointed in himself. He even tries to make himself straight for their benefit.
Yeah, it’s gay-positive-challenged.
Then Laurent meets the handsome Cédric (Stéphan Guérin-Tilli), for whom Laurent interns in the field of agronomy. Cédric’s mother Emma (Eva Darlan) is openly accepting of her son and tries to help Laurent’s parents to understand and accept their child. Cédric finds it difficult to accept Laurent’s closetedness and pushes Laurent to come out to his parents, causing their burgeoning relationship to splinter.
This made-for-TV French film is extremely well done, and the love story between Laurent and Cédric sweet to watch unfold. The two actors have real on-screen chemistry, and the movie does a great job of portraying their interactions realistically, from playfulness to passion to tenderness to tension. The acting is top-notch, and the story exceeds the scope of the clichéd coming-out tale with its involvement of Laurent’s best friend and Cédric’s mother. Laurent’s uncertainty about his sexuality is balanced by Cédric’s quiet confidence, and both characters offer the viewer enough depth and breadth that neither are stereotypes or caricatures.
Tags: Coming Out, Foreign film, Gay, Male Nudity
