FILM: Show Me Love
** I am spoiling the ending here so don't read it unless you want to know what happens **
For quiet teenage lesbian Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg), making friends in the depressingly dull Swedish town of Åmål is harder than assembling an Ikea wardrobe. She finds herself forced out of her flat-pack closet after an encounter with school rebel and object of her secret desires, Elin (Alexandra Dahlström), who cruelly tricks her into thinking that she is the one who’ll show her love. When the truth comes out - Elin was only doing it for a bet - Agnes is humiliated. Elin's conscience soon gets the better of her and after apologising to Agnes she discovers the two share dreams of escaping their insular world and lofty ambitions that would never been achieved or understood in Åmål.
The film is billed as a teenage lesbian love story, but it more accurately portrays the problems faced by anyone deemed "different" in a small town - especially in the conformist world of teenagers. At any school there will always be an "in crowd" and another group who are ostracised for no reason apart from the fact that they are different. While the John Hughes' style of teen movies usually depicted the misfits ultimately conforming to the norm, it's refreshing to see two characters grappling with the difficulties of being different and ultimately revealing their true selves to the world.
Lukas Moodysson's debut film captures a side of teenage life that is often sanitised in mainstream American movies. While it is common for actors in American teen movies to be well into their twenties with gleaming white teeth, a smooth complexion and svelte figures, Moodysson's cast looked like average teenagers. This is largely due to his use of young novice actors in the film resulting in a more believable story. Moodysson also managed to capture the behaviour of teenagers in a realistic light - at times awkward, moody and selfish.
With the film’s realistic approach, it’s surprising that it ends on such a positive note – an uplifting soundtrack and Elin declaring to the school that she and Agnes are off to have sex. While this reflects the characters' confidence and solidarity, it also shows their extreme naivety. Perhaps this was intentional, but the viewer can’t help but wonder what would really happen next. Agnes's parents would have probably been supportive, but classmates would have tormented the girls and it’s unlikely that the weaker Elin would have reverted to type and end up like everyone else - making do with the local boy who fancies but doesn't understand her, abandoning her dreams of being a psychologist and having only the lottery to look forward to.
Show me love? Just show me a way out of Åmål, thank you.
For quiet teenage lesbian Agnes (Rebecka Liljeberg), making friends in the depressingly dull Swedish town of Åmål is harder than assembling an Ikea wardrobe. She finds herself forced out of her flat-pack closet after an encounter with school rebel and object of her secret desires, Elin (Alexandra Dahlström), who cruelly tricks her into thinking that she is the one who’ll show her love. When the truth comes out - Elin was only doing it for a bet - Agnes is humiliated. Elin's conscience soon gets the better of her and after apologising to Agnes she discovers the two share dreams of escaping their insular world and lofty ambitions that would never been achieved or understood in Åmål.
The film is billed as a teenage lesbian love story, but it more accurately portrays the problems faced by anyone deemed "different" in a small town - especially in the conformist world of teenagers. At any school there will always be an "in crowd" and another group who are ostracised for no reason apart from the fact that they are different. While the John Hughes' style of teen movies usually depicted the misfits ultimately conforming to the norm, it's refreshing to see two characters grappling with the difficulties of being different and ultimately revealing their true selves to the world.
Lukas Moodysson's debut film captures a side of teenage life that is often sanitised in mainstream American movies. While it is common for actors in American teen movies to be well into their twenties with gleaming white teeth, a smooth complexion and svelte figures, Moodysson's cast looked like average teenagers. This is largely due to his use of young novice actors in the film resulting in a more believable story. Moodysson also managed to capture the behaviour of teenagers in a realistic light - at times awkward, moody and selfish.
With the film’s realistic approach, it’s surprising that it ends on such a positive note – an uplifting soundtrack and Elin declaring to the school that she and Agnes are off to have sex. While this reflects the characters' confidence and solidarity, it also shows their extreme naivety. Perhaps this was intentional, but the viewer can’t help but wonder what would really happen next. Agnes's parents would have probably been supportive, but classmates would have tormented the girls and it’s unlikely that the weaker Elin would have reverted to type and end up like everyone else - making do with the local boy who fancies but doesn't understand her, abandoning her dreams of being a psychologist and having only the lottery to look forward to.
Show me love? Just show me a way out of Åmål, thank you.
posted by Stephanie at 6:12 AM
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