Brokeback Mountain tried in 2005. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal tried to show the world there were gay cowboys…and the world was only ready to make lots of stupid jokes (except this one, the best one). Almost 20 years later, Luke Gilford tries again, going further with National Anthem in terms of representation. I’m sure jokes will be made about this one too, but anyone who goes into this one with an open heart could end up being surprised how sweet and universal this tale actually is.
Dylan (Charlie Plummer) is living honestly a pretty melancholy existence. At 21, he’s already acting like a pseudo father to Cassidy (Joey DeLeon) because his drunk mom Fiona (Robyn Lively) is maybe more melancholy than he is. Aimlessly working across New Mexico, Dylan accepts a job as a ranch hand from Pepe (Rene Rosado). Pepe driven Dylan into a ranch he hasn’t seen before. With a flag he hasn’t seen before. And a horserider named Sky (Eve Lindley) next to a drag queen extraordinaire Carrie (Mason Alexander Park), who open Dylan’s world to a life he didn’t know existed.
The joys of National Anthem are in the stitching together of LGTBQ storytelling with Western storytelling. Dylan represents a western cowboy trope: a lonely, quiet sad cowboy content to work and have a little dream to get out of his broken home. So when that trope collides with Sky, Pepe, and Cassidy’s rainbow personalities, it’s as if Dylan sees colors for the first time. The bonding happens in a big Wal Mart, ending with Dylan covered in makeup, or in a beautiful western vista, with Sky and Dylan simply holding each other like we’re in an Ansel Adams painting. On the flip side, watching Drag Shows collide with rodeo life is a joy to watch, and seeing a little enclave of LGBTQ people building a little community for themselves outside of city life is a nice reminder that you don’t have to live near a big city to be sexually fluid. Most importantly, instead of love being the end goal like Westerns might go for, identity is more key here like in LGBTQ stories, using love as a conduit instead. This takes the beats of a love story but adds on this additional act, livening up your standard romance into something more interesting and character specific, in a location that also breathes new life into where LGBTQ movies could go next.
All of this works because of the main cast. Charlie Plummer and Eve Lindley are exactly what you want for a swoony romance. Watching the outgoing magnetic Sky drag Dylan out of his shell is stuff the great romances build their chemistry out of. Plus that initial spark evolves nicely as Dylan falls deeper in love with Sky but circumstances keep them apart. While Plummer and Lindley are fantastic, it’s the supporting characters I found myself more interested in. Rene Rosado and Robyn Lively give us two sides of the same coin, really humanizing pretty unlikable characters with mini twists and turns in their relationship to the leads. But the big winner here is Mason Alexander Park as Carrie. They are the drag mommy Dylan never had, offering a sympathetic ear and world earned perspective to a boy who doesn’t know anything yet, while also just being a jolt of electricity everytime they are onscreen. Park is so good I started wishing they could run away with Dylan as we spend more time with them.
There is a National Anthem sung in this movie. Watching it happen with the crowd of characters Luke Gilford’s movie lets us spend time with will bring a tear to your eye, reminding them they are every bit a part of the US as anyone else. So if you’re from out West, and you have some feelings inside of you you want to explore, I counted at least 7 LGBTQ ranches that are out there in the United States. You’re not alone! Find your people!