Poor, sad, beautiful boys

C.R.A.Z.Y at Barbican Cinema 1, 28th April 2006

Oh the heartache, the gender confusion, the tears, the family dysfunction, the bad bad fashion choices, and the groovy soundtrack!

Zac, the main protagonist of the piece is a somewhat sensitive soul (wets his bed, wants a pram for his birthday) who possesses prodigious gifts of healing (according to his ultra-religious mother) and a tendency to ‘act like a fairy’ (according to his father). Growing up in a family of five boys, his brothers are either geekish, jocks, or brain-addled, drug-taking morons, and so it’s up to him to take on the role of outsider in the family- the cultured one into music and dressing up like David Bowie (as he gets older).

The film follows Zac through his youth and adolescence and has a sweeping episodic structure which feels a bit shallow at times; in my view they’re seems to be enough material for far more than just one film, maybe a whole miniseries in the ilk of The Thornbirds; Quebec-style. Zac's relationship with his childhood sweetheart is treated pretty superficially and there are other characters around the periphery, like the eccentric psychic who befriends him and tells him he is gifted, that we never get to know properly either.

What’s good about the film is that the character’s ambiguous sexuality is treated without a hint of sensationalism, and the general tone is warm and cautiously optimistic; representing the full spectrum of family life. The character’s relationship with his father is particularly interesting based as it is on an almost obsessive love of music- Patsy Cline on the father’s part, and David Bowie on the son's. It’s music that causes the father to feel proud of his son's achievements almost against his will, and music which helps heal the rift between them towards the end of the film.

Finally, the actor that played Zac reminded me of that other poor, sad, beautiful boy River Phoenix, and it made me wonder: is it ever possible to look like that and NOT be confused about your sexuality?