Supernova and Pride

Bleecker Street

Since reopening to the public, I’ve found myself within the warm and comforting embrace of the cinema on two separate occasions. Most recently, my brother, my partner, and I attended a screening of Supernova. Fittingly, its release has coincided with Pride month, though this is not entirely coincidental, I would assume.

The story follows Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), a couple travelling across England in their old RV, revisiting people and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, their time together is now the most crucial thing they have.

Great portions of the film’s visual style can be interpreted as a love letter to Britain’s countryside. A confident grasp of direction from relative newcomer Macqueen treats the audience to some stunning cinematography, made possible by the natural beauty of The Lake District in Cumbria. Quick cuts of serene landscapes and a colour palette of deep, natural shades add a mesmeric quality that couples wonderfully with the film’s simple and poetic score.

Thematically, the choice to portray the central couple as homosexual, rather than the often more banal heterosexual representation, is a breath of fresh air. Though the attraction of an LGBTQ project is a hot commodity in the current cultural and political climate, at no point does the narrative feel forced or disingenuous; it only bestows genuine depth.

To say I enjoyed the film, however, would be a somewhat insincere response. While I was taken in by the poignancy of its story, by its nature, it’s not one to simply enjoy. Rather, it touches in a manner so delicate you hardly even notice it, drawing you in and holding you centrally within the struggles of its two main characters.

Ultimately, this is a deeply human film, in essence and depiction. The interactions between Sam and Tusker are honest and mostly unmarred by the more overdramatic tendencies of cliched romance films. It’s only in the film’s tragic climax that we see any form of melodrama, and it serves to raise real questions about morality and the destructive capabilities of dementia.

During Pride Month, a film of this nature feels both justified and entirely necessary, offering qualities unique to the romance genre. Praiseworthy in its simplicity and what it manages to accomplish during its relatively short, 90-minute running time, it’s a film that happens with a bang rather than a whimper, much like a supernova.

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