HCAU Reviews: Love, Simon
This week I got the opportunity to see a secret screening of the upcoming film Love, Simon. It follows the story of a closeted gay teenager, based on the young adult novel ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ by Becky Albertalli. Myself and the rest of the audience had no idea which film we were going to be watching before it stared playing on the big screen, and when the title appeared I was very excited. I had seen the trailer a few months ago, and I have been meaning to read the book for a long time (blaming endless uni work for getting in the way of that one), so I was really hopeful that the film would reach its full potential. It did not disappoint.
Simon, played by Nick Robinson, is in his final year of high school, and has a great family and friends, but he also has a big secret. He is gay. Simon’s life begins to change when another local boy, only known as Blue, post an anonymous coming out message online, and Simon begins communicating with him, viewing him as the only person he can honestly open up to. The film keeps you intrigued throughout, as the audience tries to guess the true identity of Blue, as they watch Simon fall in love for the very first time.
It is the first coming of age story about a gay teenager which has been released by a mainstream studio, so is making history in the movie world. Based on the disappointing number of people who walked out of the screening as soon as the title appeared, I think it is important that more films are being made featuring a more diverse range of protagonists. I witnessed two male audience members promise each other that they wouldn’t tell anybody that they had seen this film. By the end they were an emotional mess.
Fuelled by a fantastic cast and uplifting soundtrack, the film was heart-warming, and funny, and I didn’t want it to end. It is the perfect escape and I would recommend it to anyone.
Love, Simon is released on April 6th in the UK!
5/5
Image: 20th Century Fox (https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/love-simon)