To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Signals a New Era of Coming Out On ScreenLara Jean is hiding

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Signals a New Era of Coming Out On ScreenLara Jean is hiding in a bathroom stall when an envelope slides under the partition. Addressed in her own handwriting to Lucas James, it’s one of five letters she had penned to girlhood crushes and long kept tucked away in her closet without any intention of sending. In To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the divinely charming Netflix rom-com based on Jenny Han’s YA novel of the same name, Lara Jean’s private notes unexpectedly reach their recipients — one of whom happens to be gay.Of course, Lara Jean (played by Lana Condor) didn’t know that when she fell for Lucas (Trezzo Mahoro) after they shared a sweet dance at homecoming during freshman year. “I thought you might want that back,” Lucas tells her gently from outside the stall, the two now in their junior year of high school. “It seemed a little personal.” Though he is a relatively minor supporting character, To All the Boys, directed by Susan Johnson with a screenplay by Sofia Alvarez, affords Lucas’ experience careful attention in this brief introductory scene. In just a few moments, we learn that he understands the value of privacy and discretion perhaps better than anyone.“You know I’m gay, right?” Lucas asks. Lara Jean’s voice-over tells us she did not, but she stammers an awkward reply in the moment that yes, of course she did. “Don’t, like, tell anyone, though,” he says. “I’m out and I’m not ashamed. My mom knows, my dad … kinda knows. It’s just” — and they both say in unison — “high school.”A young heroine unknowingly falling for a gay character has long been a staple teen-movie trope. But much has changed since 1995, when Cher found herself “totally buggin’” over Christian in Clueless. Films like last year’s Lady Bird increasingly pay more attention to their LGBTQ+ characters’ inner emotional lives. But To All the Boys treats Lucas’ sexuality, and where he is in the process of expressing it, with nuance that signals a new benchmark for the genre. More than many movies in recent memory, To All the Boys understands that coming out is messy as hell, and is different for everyone. The most important thing is to respect how each individual chooses to share that intimate piece of themselves with others.Lucas assumes that Lara Jean, and by extension most of the school, knows that he is gay (a speculation confirmed shortly afterward by Peter, another letter recipient). Refreshingly, Lucas’ concession isn’t the basis for a joke. By contrast, for the more feminine-presenting Ethan in this spring’s Love, Simon, the very idea that he might ever have been mistaken for straight is laughable. When we flashback to Ethan’s coming out, his friends all feign surprise — How could anyone not know? Just look at him, goes the gag’s subtext. But To All the Boys hits more subtly on the truth that, for many queer kids, our sexuality may be obvious to our peers long before we understand who we are or have the words to talk about it.Continue reading: Netflix -- source link
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