So much of their technique is subtext, which relies on us to play detective. As in “Girl” - which put audiences in the place of its protagonist - Dhont and co-writer Angelo Tijssens present observational scenes of everyday life, reveal character through behavior rather than expository dialogue. Their parents treat both kids as their own (Léa Drucker and Emilie Dequenne play Leo and Remi’s respective mothers, and both are terrific). Even their nights are spent sleeping over at one another’s houses, limbs entwined. Seldom apart, Leo and Remi seem to be joined at the hip. We meet lifelong besties Leo and Remi playing together in a makeshift fort a stone’s throw from blooming dahlia fields - an incredibly specific, unspeakably lovely profession for Leo’s family that would surely make Terrence Malick envious (his characters could spin for hours among the shoulder-high flowers). First, it’s worth celebrating the first 45 minutes of the film, which will resonate deeply with anyone, gay or straight, who’s ever found themselves adapting their behavior according to the homophobia of others.
“Close” presents a version of the same problem, but we’ll get to that later.
