Closet Monster movie review & film summary (2016)
Like the superior “Moonlight,” “Closet Monster” tells the story of queer youth navigating the rocky waters of self-acceptance. Both films use imagery and camerawork as a means of evoking the protagonist’s feelings of uncertainty, but “Closet Monster” resides in a more surrealistic universe. In addition to chatting with Buffy, Oscar has constant visions of being impaled on a large iron pole, which juts from his stomach like a bloody, phallic object. This image is rooted in Oscar’s traumatic childhood discovery of the victim of a heinous, homophobic hate crime. Oscar’s psyche adopts the weapon used in the attack as a symbol for his own concerns about his burgeoning sexuality. It might be above my pay grade to say that pole is a coming out metaphor, but based on the film’s gory climax, that’s the way I interpreted it.
There’s no doubt in Oscar’s mind that he’s gay, and writer/director Stephen Dunn never makes this ambiguous. What he does subtly shade is the friendship that develops between Oscar and Wilder (Aliocha Schneider), a handsome co-worker at a Home Depot-ish hardware store. Wilder’s sexuality is left undefined, and Oscar is content not to inquire, as either option might lead to a rejection. Wilder’s feelings about Oscar are played far closer to the chest than Oscar’s feelings about him: When Wilder asks to borrow Oscar’s uniform shirt for his shift, Oscar lustfully responds to Wilder’s scent upon its return. Unfortunately, his onanistic glee is interrupted by a familiar, sharp pain in his stomach.
“You look different,” says Buffy to Oscar when he returns home after swooning over Wilder. “You’re in LOVE!” Rossellini’s delivery of the line is just great, a fearless response that serves as a mini-oasis of positivity. Oscar denies all, but his spirit animal knows better. His BFF Gemma (Sophia Banzhaf) also picks up on this change, playfully poking at Oscar for more details. In addition to being his companion, Gemma is also the model for Oscar’s F/X makeup. Oscar uses the resulting pictures as his portfolio when he applies at a college specializing in special effects. Since Gemma plans on pursuing a modeling career in Brooklyn after graduation, Oscar also photographs the headshots she’ll need for her own pursuits.
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