Review by
Benjamin Poole
Directed by: Daniel Sanchez Lopez
Starring: Matthew James Morrison, Alexandros Koutsoulis
The very nature of narrative structure demands closure; a resolution of
the conflicts and plot disruptions which have constituted the preceding
storyline. In many films, this climax is signified by romantic/sexual
promise, a hero getting the girl (reaffirming heteronormative values), the
co-leads colluding with a conclusive kiss. In writer/director
Daniel Sanchez Lopez’s (with script co-operation from
Hannah Renton) Boy Meets Boy, however, the hour-and-change run time happens after a passionate snog
at the end of the night on a Berlin dancefloor, as lonely strangers Harry
(Matthew James Morrison) and Johannes (Alexis Koutsoulis)
share a friendly kiss before entering the sunny dawn of a beautiful Berlin
and then spending the rest of the day together. Ever wondered what happens
after that climatic clinch? Meet Boy Meets Boy.
Boy Meets Boy doesn’t half remind me of a different film. I
can’t put my finger on it. There are a couple (a man and a woman, that
time) who are in another European town before sunrise before one of them
is catching a train at sunrise and they only have a limited time before
sunrise to make a romantic/spiritual connection. It will come to me, and
probably to you while watching Boy Meets Boy if you are at
all familiar with the film about a sunrise which came before this one.
A few odd Macguffins set the scene - Harry needs to print a boarding pass,
Johannes’ wallet/bike gets stolen - but the meat of
Boy Meets Boy consists of two nice gay lads simply wandering
around Berlin chirpsing about this and that. The conversation has a patina
of freshness though, as gay politics and social cultures are broached in a
uniquely subtle manner, but this is essentially your lot: it should have
really been called Boy Wanders Around With Boy. And, look, I’m not jealous
or anything, but I’m unsure that a film about two attractive young people,
leading a largely unproblematic life (there is refreshingly an absence of
homophobia in the film, with even a couple of Watchtower peddlers coming
off as sweet and open) in one of the best cities in the world, with luxury
and cash at their disposal (Berlin ain’t for free) is what anyone needs
during varied degrees of lockdown and quarantine. It’s like looking at the
menu for a favourite restaurant which is shut.
An abiding issue is that the dialogue which constitutes
Boy Meets Boy is full-on millennial: superficial and
solipsistic gripes about the most elementary of topics. I had to laugh
when Harry earnestly coats down the ‘biggest 100 companies’ who contribute
to 70% of greenhouse gases. Um, mate, you’ve flown from Britain to
Schoenfeld simply to get off with strangers - I mean fair play, but carbon
dickprint much? There is a back and forth about work and doing what you
want and following your bliss which is so naïve it borders on offensive
for anyone who actually manages to hold down a job (i.e., everyone else).
There are moments, however, where the conversation does take intriguing
left turns, such as when Johannes expounds his desire for a more
‘conservative’ homely lifestyle with his partner, and pleasingly pours
scorn on the limited cliches of gay promiscuity. However, any conflict is
glossed over with an awkward smile from one or the other before the
tentative flirting begins anew.
Is it enough, these likeable young men coquettishly chatting around the
capital of Germany? Just about, in the sense that this is an aspirational
gay fairytale of sorts. However, perhaps fitting to this genre framework,
there are annoying logical transgressions. For instance, Harry makes a
point of saying how high they both are before reporting the stolen bike to
the Polizei (he is on 2CB - oooh, fancy!). However, over the course of the
following day neither of them seem remotely sweaty or come-down ish. And,
about that day, not since Ferris Bueller discovered a time loop in
downtown Chicago have young people managed to cram so much into a daytrip
to the city. A pity then, that Boy Meets Boy doesn’t leave
enough room for narrative stakes or dramatic urgency.
Boy Meets Boy is on UK DVD and
Digital from September 6th.
