‘History huh, bet we could make some‘– Alex in the movie Red, White and Royal Blue
It’s been a month since I watched the movie, ‘Red, White, and Royal Blue’ directed by Matthew Lopez. The fangirl in me is still drooling over the scenes, dialogues, and chemistry showcased in the movie. I still cannot get over its impact and how it got me thinking about varied aspects of life. Hence, here’s my review to help you decide why you should watch it too!
The film is based on the book Red, White, and Royal Blue by American author Casey McQuinston. Having not read the book, the film was my first encounter with the story. It’s suffice to say that I fell in love with it from the first go. The film revolves around two boys, Alex (played by Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the President of America, and Henry (played by Nicholas Galitzine), the Prince of the Royal Palace of England, and their journey from not liking each other to eventually finding their way towards one another through friendship. In due course, their relationship blossoms into love and desire. As in any other love story, their tale is also not devoid of challenges, especially facing the age-old traditions of a royal palace where it was assumed that a gay prince is not fit to rule a country. They encountered personal challenges such as Henry’s reluctance to accept his love for Alex or the latter’s dilemma over whether he loved or had a casual infatuation towards Henry.
One of the many things I loved about the film is that it didn’t attempt to portray the characters as heroes who didn’t pay much heed to society’s opinion towards them. As a reference to basic human tendency, they were shown to care about what others felt for them. I genuinely appreciate the fact that the movie depicted the personal journeys of navigating their dilemmas, one of them being how society would perceive their relationship. But it is their love and determination that gives them enough strength and courage to come out as a couple to the world.
Since the movie is a book adaptation, I would like to give due credit to the author. She decided to narrate the story of a gay couple who belong to two different countries with distinct forms of government- democracy, and constitutional monarchy. As a student of political science, this was an essential component of the plot that attracted me to this star-crossed love story. I was particularly intrigued by the portrayal of the dissimilarities of Alex and Henry’s lives and how it impacted their expression of love for each other. While Alex never shied away from expressing his feelings for Henry in public, Henry (or as he liked to mention himself ‘Your Royal Highness’) had, for the longest time, boxed his feelings for Alex. He hesitates to surrender to the realization that Alex is indeed the man he has always wanted as his lover.
I adore the chemistry that both Taylor and Nicholas portrayed on screen. The way Henry used to react whenever Alex caressed him, their funny yet flirty texts to each other, or simply the fact that at the New Year party, Alex’s eyes were fixated on Henry the whole time made me want to believe that they had always loved each other in the plot, even before their kiss during the party (spoiler alert!).
I loved the way the script tries to break away from the existing gender stereotypes. The movie casted actress Uma Thurman as the female President of America. This seemed like a fresh take considering the gender baised history of appointments of American Presidents in reality. Secondly, the movie highligts the men can also be subject to episodes of vulnerability and breakdowns, debunking the societal notions of the need for them to be ‘strong’ or ‘resilient’. Both the male protagonists are depicted to have their fair share of emotional breakthroughs.
I can go on and on about this, but on a concluding note, I believe everyone should give it a watch. If you are a true romantic at heart, this movie and its characters will make you fall in love with ‘love’, all over again. If you are passionate about politics and LGBTQ+ rights, then this movie gives you a sneak peek of their lives in the USA and England respectively (no spoilers this time!). The dialogue of the actors and the quotes in the movie made it a spectacular watch, my favorite being “We can figure out a way to love each other on our own terms. It’s like there’s a rope attached to my chest, and it keeps pulling me towards you.”