Dream Boy review

1 April 2009

Newly arrived in rural Louisiana, along with his pious parents, introverted teen Nathan finds his desires awakened by neighbour and schoolmate Roy, who one evening offers to help him with his homework. And soon they’re more than study partners, despite the fact that Roy is apparently dating a girl from his church and hangs with tough-talking jocks Burke and Randy (though with their Abercrombie-model looks, it's not so hard to see why). But just when you think it's all going to play out like a Deep South Beautiful Thing, one heated encounter causes Roy to doubt that he is Nathan's first sexual partner – and an unsavoury revelation follows.

From here on the film becomes a much darker affair, reaching its climax when Roy and Nathan join Burke and Randy on a camping trip. As night falls, the quartet start trading ghost stories and recounting local myths - an episode that prefigures the film's ambiguous ending. And later, as they explore a derelict plantation house, Burke discovers the real nature of Roy and Nathan's relationship, with tragic consequences. But what ultimately triumphs in this surprising and atmospheric film is the simple purity of this couple's love - over the ugly bigotry and hypocrisy that has raged around it.

Scott Hughes