“I knew you had a secret. When you were little, you were so carefree. But these last few years, more and more, it almost like I can feel you holding your breath.”
One of my favourite LGBT+ films of all time is Boys Don’t Cry – It’s a very sad film based on a real life story about a trans boy who fell in love with a girl and it ended in him being brutally murdered. Every LGBT + film I have ever watched is either full of a load of cliques or ends in a negative way – So I was dying to watch Love, Simon because it had so many amazing reviews.
Yesterday night myself and Teleri went to the cinema to see Love, Simon – I had been determined to go and see it since the release and we decided to go yesterday! Seeing the reviews, the articles following the release and seeing the trailer gave me a vibe that showed that it was going to be an outstanding film and a change within the attitudes that people have towards young LGBT+ People.
In the film Simon (The main character) knows he is gay, he knows who he is and he isn’t ashamed – he just cant comprehend as to why he has to come out as gay – When straight people never have to come out – There is an amazing scene where Simon’s friends all come out to their parents as straight and it made me giggle so much.
I feel like I can relate to Simon on one issue – he got outted by someone who knew his secret. When I came out one of my “friends” it got spread around my school like wildfire – and I had to get used to it because everybody knew and it was finally out. Simon took this huge blow within his life as a positive step, he stood up and said “yes I am gay and what?”, he didn’t bite back at the haters – he carried on.
I didn’t manage to come out to my mum / sisters / aunt / cousins – they found out. So I kept a huge distance between themselves and myself for a long while because I was afraid of getting disowned. Simon’s little sister spoke to him about it and he snapped at her and I think he snapped at her because he was afraid of how she may feel – but by the end of the movie his parents and little sister are the most supportive people in the world. Simon’s dad suggested that they both sign up to Grindr so they can find someone for him because it’s a “Facebook for gay men” and I cried so much haha.
The other main thing I LOVED about the movie is the fact that they didn’t have gay stereotypes – there was a character within the film who is feminine but it wasn’t too over the top like most programmes / movies do when it comes to portraying gay characters. Simon is an ordinary boy – and so is Blue – when you find out who blue truly is you will be so shocked because I honestly never seen it coming.
Blue – who is the boy that Simon is messaging about being Gay – Blue trusts Simon an awful lot, Blue is inspired by Simon’s strength, Blue is honest about his life – about the fact that he is Jewish – about the fact that his parents are separated and about everything.
By the end of the movie you see so much love and support – it sent so many shivers down my spine its unreal.
Love, Simon is going to change attitudes, inspire young people and help people accept who they truly are. Love, Simon showed that you can find love in the most weirdest situation, you can be proud and comfortable with who you are and that it’s not all gloom as you imagine it being. If you haven’t seen it – I’d recommend you do see it and take some tissues because you may cry one or two tears.
