Film Review #70: CLOSE

Filmmaker Lukas Dhont returns with his second feature - Close (2022), a tragedy which explores the depths of childhood friendship in a sort-of coming-of-age portrayal. Making their film acting debut, Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele play Leo and Remi respectively. They are two thirteen year-old childhood best friends entering secondary school and also entering their adolescence. However, their closeness is met with harsh judgment by peers, ramifications of which go beyond what any of them could have ever imagined - a chain of undesirable decisions made by Leo result in Remi’s shocking choice to end his own life. This drastically changes the lives of those around him, in particular, his former bestie Leo.

Excluding titles and end credits, Close (2022) lasts barely a hundred minutes. Yet, the weight of the story and the emotions it depicts and evokes will likely stay with audiences a hundred days easily, maybe longer.

While the film’s plot and premise are simple, there is plenty of room for analyses and discussions on the film’s themes - friendship, masculinity, and the struggle between being true to oneself and the desire to be socially accepted. Close (2022) bluntly cuts across all three themes, leaving scars on its characters and perhaps, scars on its viewers too.

On friendship, Close raises the question - Where does one draw the line between friendship and a romantic relationship? The fact, and answer, is that it differs from individual to individual, and ultimately, it really is none of anybody else’s business except each individual self.

In terms of masculinity, the film brings back into the spotlight how society perceives masculinity and how it expects males to live up to society's expectations of that. Till today, affectionate platonic relationships between two males continue to be questioned, and worse, measured against their masculinity. The world can definitely do better.

And the above-mentioned friendship and masculinity converge into the struggle that some people face - choosing between being who they are and caring for their loved ones in their own way, and conforming to society’s standards of how friendships, specifically those between males, should look like so as to fit in with society. As incredible a film Close is, it is sad that such a story is still relevant in 2022.

Speaking of 2022, cinema saw a handful of great performances by young actors - Frankie Corio in Aftersun, Gabrielle LaBelle in The Fabelmans, Catherine Clinch in The Quiet Girl, and Sadie Sink in The Whale, to name just a few apart from the two leads in Close. A trained dancer - even though Dambrine did not utilise his body in more than a couple of runs, chases and scuffles - his experience in conveying emotions nonverbally certainly aided his performance. It was also of huge advantage to him while playing Leo that his naturally large eyes kept audiences captive, allowing every reflection, every teardrop, as well as every bit of despair, fear and regret to be well-captured.

Despite having a screentime for far less than half the movie, Gustav De Waele as Remi left just as deep an impression on me as Dambrine did. There are three specific scenes I personally find De Waele to have stolen. The first is his oboe performance. Remi was well-prepared, to say the least; he had his family and his best friend in attendance showing their full support. Yet, it was apparent all of this only elevated his own expectations of his performance - the hesitation and nervousness in his facial expressions were clear.

Second is the breakfast scene after Leo and Remi’s morning fight during what was implied to be Leo’s last sleepover at Remi’s place. The third is similar to the second; the scene in school where Remi confronts Leo after missing Leo at lunch. The second and third scenes I highlighted showcased what De Waele is capable of delivering through crying. For the record, including Remi, a total of five characters (at least) cried in the movie, but Remi’s scenes hurt the most, for obvious reasons. To Remi, his life had somewhat already ended when the person he cared for the most pushed him away. “You always wait for me, not this time”, followed by an explosion of emotions - confusion, anger, feeling betrayed, all rolled down Remi’s cheeks. Personally, this was the saddest moment of the film.

In some ways, the simplicity and directness of the story limited the strength of the screenplay. Close’s acting performances were so powerful that other creative and technical aspects of the film are challenged to leave a mark in audiences’ minds. That said, one might argue that the film relies more on its performers' non-verbal cues and expressions, once again suggesting a reason for Dambrine’s seemingly effortless turn to deliver a stunning debut performance.

In the same breath, it warrants a mention that while watching the film, no particular technical elements stood out for me. This is not to say 1) the technical aspects of the film were unsatisfactory, or that 2) Dhont did not pay attention to the technical requirements of the film. Praises do have to be given especially to Valentin Hadjadj, composer of the film, and Frank van den Eeden, the cinematographer, for their decent work respectively.

Dhont’s second project earned Belgium a spot in the International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards, in addition to dozens of other accolades and nominations including Grand Prize of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Close (2022) did not tell an unfamiliar story, but it cruelly forces one to re-examine childhood friendships, something nearly every human being must have had. It painfully teaches us that a deeply close relationship between two people knows no age or gender.

Close (2022) earned 4.5 stars on my Letterboxd.

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About the Author: Jarrett is a devoted cinephile for over half of his life. Apart from movies, coffee keeps him awake and music keeps him alive. Having studied theatre and performed as an actor before, he's also a sucker for great performances.

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