GAYLETTER

We were given a screener for this film by IFC, which meant we could watch it in the comfort of Abi’s apartment last Sunday night with some pizza and wine (it’s the only way we like to watch our French lesbian love stories). I’d heard ALOT of talk about the film before it came out: the public spats between the director and the two stars (the director was a nightmare to work with) the accolades it received from the Cannes Film Festival (Spielberg, who was head judge, broke with tradition and awarded the film, the director and both stars with the Palme d’Or) and all the rumors about the sex scenes (apparently all real). Also, I’d heard it was 3 hours long, so was preparing myself for a marathon. As we got into it, the films length was the last thing on my mind. What struck me most was realizing how few lesbian love stories I’d seen on film. Honestly I can’t name the last, and I run GAYLETTER! Thankfully the film has more going for it than the gender of its protagonist. It’s a story of first love and how thrilling, scary, and confusing that can be. I found it incredibly relatable and even as a gay man, sooo hot. These girls, especially the main character Adele (Adèle Exarchopoulos) are beautiful, and their sex scenes are so real you can’t help but feel a little pervy for watching them. I highly recommend you see this film, just don’t take your dad or a first date. That could get a little awks.  —tom