So my LGBT cinema class is over, or it will be officially when I turn in my final paper. I won't have a lot of time before Spring semester starts (two days) and the Oscar nominations are coming out on Tuesday, so be on the lookout for a special post then. Shy (Silas Howard) was raised by his dad after his mom left them. When his dad dies and the bank repossesses the house, Shy takes all his belongings on a search for adventure. He has vague plans of starting a life of crime, but his first real action is to try and help a motormouth getting the shit beat out of him by some random asshole. This turns out to be a guy named Valentine (Harry Dodge), one of those perpetually innocent souls who immediately befriends Shy and welcomes him into his life with no reserves.
This movie was a total surprise to me. I had never heard of it but it turned out to be probably my favorite film of the entire class. It's so sweet without being saccharine and a lot of that credit goes to Harry Dodge's portrayal. Valentine is fucked up, possibly crazy, but Benny & Joon crazy, not Manson crazy. A total cinnamon roll. Shy immediately feels responsible for keeping Val safe, and so do the viewers. It's impossible not to want only the best things for Val.
Both Dodge and Howard are trans* and the film is a true representation of non-binary gender dynamics without being solely defined as a "trans" film. It's important that these characters just are without having to provide any justification for being who they are.
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