Winter Boy review: Christophe Honoré’s familiar coming-of-age saga is equally charming and awkward

3/5

Story:

Lucas is a teenager who’s yet to find purpose in his life, trying to discover himself, exploring love, sexuality and his ambitions at school. Barely days after Lucas and his father have a close shave with death, the latter is dead in a road mishap. Lucas’ mother Isabelle and his elder sibling Quentin suggest he stay briefly in Paris to get over the tragedy before he returns to school.

Review:

Like most of Christophe Honoré’s films, Winter Boy is a coming-of-age saga born out of an immensely personal space and is a semi-autobiographical look at his own life. Centring on a gay teenager who struggles to deal with the trauma of losing a parent, the filmmaker opts for the contemporary milieu, addressing his signature themes - mortality, sexuality, and family - with earnestness.

Akin to nostalgia and how one often tends to revisit memories, the narration is intentionally choppy. A series of voice-overs guides you to the protagonist’s tale. Lucas and his father miraculously remain unhurt in a road mishap days before the latter’s death. A brief conversation before the incident impacts the teenager and his eventual reaction to the personal tragedy.

The incident pushes Lucas’ towards the vagaries of adulthood even before he’s ready for it. Naturally, as you would expect of a 17-year-old, Lucas deals with grief awkwardly. He wants to use it as an excuse to drop out of school, indulges in trivial banters with his brother and distracts himself with a few sexual escapades without giving himself the time to process the event.

The film gains steam once the story progress towards Lucas’ Parisian adventures. Honoré is brilliant while he stages moments of self-reflection and introspection - he taps into the teen’s loneliness, captures his impulsive responses and his desperation to adult quickly. The idea to create a parallel between Lucas’ sexual encounter and his conversation on biblical ‘resurrection’ is strangely effective.

The variety in the interpersonal relationships captures your intrigue - the bitter-sweet sibling equation, Lucas’ one-off interaction with a male escort and his unusual friendship with his brother’s pal Lilio. Beyond these nuggets and a few flashes of brilliance, Winter Boy doesn’t have anything spectacularly new to offer in terms of a cinematic experience - it does what you expect from its premise; nothing more and nothing less.

Honoré could’ve ideally dug deeper into the suicidal angle to Lucas’ father’s death; he plants a few clues (his interaction with Lucas initially) though they don’t quite pique your interest. There are no major complaints one could have with Winter Boy otherwise; it’s sweet, endearing, charming and awkward, but just that you’d have wanted it to affect you more.

More than a showcase of Honoré’s directorial abilities, the film serves as a testimony to the brilliance of its lead actor Paul Kircher. His remarkably vulnerable performance helps the viewer root for his part despite the familiar beats in the story. He’s dreamy-eyed, lost, confused, and composed while portraying the various hues of Lucas with immense sincerity.

One would’ve wanted to know more about Quentin’s life too though Vincent Lacoste is terrific within the scope of the character. Juliette Binoche, playing a mother who needs to stand up for her children even while struggling to overcome her husband’s death, is assured in her portrayal. Erwan Kepoa Falé’s brief appearance as Lilio makes an impact. Xavier Giannoli’s Oscar isn’t a character that’s explored in detail.

Rémy Chevrin's idyllic cinematography, capturing the protagonist’s transformation through his adventures on Paris roads, by the countryside, references to nature and the use of flashy lighting are an asset to the result. Yoshihiro Hanno's score gently nudges the story forward without making much of an effort to get noticed. With a two-hour runtime, Winter Boy overstays its welcome while stating the obvious and not achieving much in terms of an impact either.

Verdict:

Winter Boy is a familiar coming-of-age saga revolving around a teenager’s quest to rediscover himself after his father’s untimely demise. While the treatment stays true to the premise, the film doesn’t offer anything out of the box. One expects more from a filmmaker of Christophe Honoré’s potential and how he could’ve pushed the bar in terms of storytelling. However, if you need a reason to watch it this weekend, it has to be for Paul Kircher’s spectacular performance.