This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Olivia, is an undocumented Filipino immigrant in Brooklyn. She is caregiver for an old Russian lady. She is saving money to send back home to her mother and also paying a man, who can eventually marry her to secure a green card. Her plans fall apart when the latter doesn't materialize. And in Trump's era Olivia lives in fear that the shadow of ICE could darken her door at any minute. Arrivals of Alex, the old lady's grandson changes things. He is shown to be a carefree, alcohol loving adult whose wild-is manners break Olivia's routine of taking care of the old lady. A tentative, extremely slow-burning attraction starts to form between Olivia and Alex, and it’s not so much a matter of “if” as “when” they’re going to act on it. They eventually do and a beautiful love story starts to form, till one night Alex discovers the truth about Olivia after having seen her old passport. Alex doesn't outrightly reject her but in a sadist way tortures her with made up stories to feed into her fear of deportation. But he continues to love her, even to the point that he eventually recommends marrying her. But it eventually comes out that he is holding her "lost" passport. The film's ending isa bit abrupt and you may have to make your own conclusions, but you know both Olivia and Alex are not sure what's right. Alex, eventually, is a good person, but will Olivia be able to trust him again?
The film's leading actress is also the writer, producer and director of the film. And she has done a marvelous job. The film is modest and not loud. You expect melodrama when Alex finds out truth about Olivia, but no such thing happens. Issues are handled in a realistic way. Olivia is someone who hold her cards close to her chest because she is living in constant fear. Yet what you do get with Olivia is the glow of a human being wrestling with whether to accept the risks of a connection with someone else, and that’s enough. Alex, on the other hand is trying to navigate his new life between old bad influences and friends and trying to be a responsible adult that his family expects and he wants to be. The film deals with the hot topic of illegal immigrants in the US and the rights of trans people; and gives them both the honesty and respect they deserve. Performance wise I think both Alex and Olivia do a marvelous job or portraying the complexity of both their characters. We are not explicitly told much about their pasts or backstory but that's the understatement in the film, which I can see could frustrate some viewers. But the beautiful tender moments that Olivia shares with the old lady that she is taking care of and passionate romantic and friendly scenes with Alex make up for most.
Given the important topics that the film covers, the expression here is one of shared humanity regardless of background, gender identity, race or creed. This film, although slow, deserves to be seen. (6.5/10)
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