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 ...
The story is simple. Adrian and Sebastian are Colombian immigrants living together in New York. Living an open life with their friends and work colleagues, their world is rocked when Sebastian’s visa is rejected and they face having to return to Colombia. Sebastian is open to the idea since he can have a much better career but Adrian is not out to his family and that has always been a bone of contention between the two guys. Fearful of having to return to their home, where their sexuality isn’t accepted, the couple enter into discussions to try and find a way to stay in New York. With nothing off limits, the couple tries getting odd jobs for Sebastian and discussions with multiple friends over a marriage of convenience for green card. But all these discussions put their relationship to test as they disagree over how to achieve their ultimate goal.
The beginning of the film is a window to the couple's life. They have sex, make breakfast, wash dishes, jog, shower together, and hold hands walking down the street. Adrian and Sebastian share an electric chemistry, feeling like an authentic couple with a long history. They have built a life together in New York City. They have a strong circle of friends. Only disagreement between them is about Adrian not going out to his parents. But this gap keeps widening and we even see a physical distance, which was done beautifully. All these odd solutions are not working for Sebastian and he is open to the idea of moving back, which is not even a consideration that Adrian wants to discuss. Adrian is shown to take charge and expects Sebastian to just follow his lead, which is hat he has been doing but Sebastian finally sees the things they are. Adrian tries to come out to his parents, but he can't bring himself to do it. Their disconnection and anger with each other overwhelm so they can't even share the same frame. We see two very strong-willed characters who, although they are in love with one another, have a complete inability to be able to communicate and listen to one another. The two actors act really well, but the biggest frustration arises to me as an audience because I don't se a resolution. Sebastian moves back to Columbia and we see Adrian making a trip there too, but what is the eventuality for them is a big question. Also after a while in the film things start getting repetitive. You have to see really close as to what is being tried to show is the widening gap between the very loving couple because of the immigration and visa issue.
The film compassionately tries to convey the struggles of immigrants and queer people, and how a couple tries to navigate through the challenges, but it falls a little short of making that very important statement. (6/10)
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