❝It’s time for you to return to the life you’ve chosen. Leave me to mine.❞
∘₊──── • ♧ • ✧ • ♧ • ────₊∘
This film will stay with me for a long, long time. It absolutely baffles my mind that something as simple and pure as love was seen (and unfortunately is still seen) as wrong. Love in all its forms is completely natural and beautiful, and it's sickening to truly understand how LGBTQIA+ have been treated throughout history, as well as the horrific 'cures' that they were subjected to. How many people lived in fear of death all their lives? How many people forced themselves to conform to societal expectations and suppress an integral part of their being?
Fionn O'Shea gave a heart-wrenching performance as Owen James, and he's such a talented actor; there were so many emotions conveyed through his eyes and minute facial expressions. Owen just couldn't live peacefully: first was Phillip (Robert Aramayo), who manipulated him into carrying out a frankly barbaric procedure, forcing him to become an accomplice in murder. Then came Charles, a new source of happiness for Owen, taken from him brutally by Phillip who couldn't stand to see people living happily as their true selves. And when he tried to move on, he was arrested violently and thrown into a hospital hell-bent on 'curing' him. The one person he could open up to at the hospital, the one person who didn't immediately think something was wrong with him, was turned out. Every single hope he clung to was dashed, and in the end the person he loved first was his downfall. What makes it worse is that lilies are a symbol of secret love, "I dare you to love me"; Owen and Phillip could've lived in peace away from society if the latter hadn't been a plain and simple coward.
I could understand why Phillip wanted to carry out the procedure on himself; the internalised homophobia was eating at him and he wanted to conform. What I will never forgive is committing murder twice, once for himself, and the other purely out of spite. How dare he manipulate someone into agreeing to such an insane treatment, only to use a sheep as a donor. To top it all off, he showed no remorse, and went ahead and inflicted the same torture on the man he claimed to have loved once. I can't find any other word than sickening to describe his actions and his miracle 'cure', as well as the fact that it was really used on men in the past.
The camerawork and cinematography were beautiful, and they juxtaposed the horrific material of the film so well. There was perfect contrast between the warm, sunny palette of Owen's past and the bleak, oppressive atmosphere and colouring of his present at the hospital. I adored the soundtrack; it was so subtle and melancholic, both hopeful and hopeless, and it weaved in and out of each scene very delicately.
I would highly encourage watching Lilies Not For Me. Everyone needs to know about the brutalities that were inflicted on people just trying to live, our fellow humans, so that we can stop anything like this happening again. Spread love, not hatred and bigotry.
❝It’s time for you to return to the life you’ve chosen. Leave me to mine.❞
∘₊──── • ♧ • ✧ • ♧ • ────₊∘
This film will stay with me for a long, long time. It absolutely baffles my mind that something as simple and pure as love was seen (and unfortunately is still seen) as wrong. Love in all its forms is completely natural and beautiful, and it's sickening to truly understand how LGBTQIA+ have been treated throughout history, as well as the horrific 'cures' that they were subjected to. How many people lived in fear of death all their lives? How many people forced themselves to conform to societal expectations and suppress an integral part of their being?
Fionn O'Shea gave a heart-wrenching performance as Owen James, and he's such a talented actor; there were so many emotions conveyed through his eyes and minute facial expressions. Owen just couldn't live peacefully: first was Phillip (Robert Aramayo), who manipulated him into carrying out a frankly barbaric procedure, forcing him to become an accomplice in murder. Then came Charles, a new source of happiness for Owen, taken from him brutally by Phillip who couldn't stand to see people living happily as their true selves. And when he tried to move on, he was arrested violently and thrown into a hospital hell-bent on 'curing' him. The one person he could open up to at the hospital, the one person who didn't immediately think something was wrong with him, was turned out. Every single hope he clung to was dashed, and in the end the person he loved first was his downfall. What makes it worse is that lilies are a symbol of secret love, "I dare you to love me"; Owen and Phillip could've lived in peace away from society if the latter hadn't been a plain and simple coward.
I could understand why Phillip wanted to carry out the procedure on himself; the internalised homophobia was eating at him and he wanted to conform. What I will never forgive is committing murder twice, once for himself, and the other purely out of spite. How dare he manipulate someone into agreeing to such an insane treatment, only to use a sheep as a donor. To top it all off, he showed no remorse, and went ahead and inflicted the same torture on the man he claimed to have loved once. I can't find any other word than sickening to describe his actions and his miracle 'cure', as well as the fact that it was really used on men in the past.
The camerawork and cinematography were beautiful, and they juxtaposed the horrific material of the film so well. There was perfect contrast between the warm, sunny palette of Owen's past and the bleak, oppressive atmosphere and colouring of his present at the hospital. I adored the soundtrack; it was so subtle and melancholic, both hopeful and hopeless, and it weaved in and out of each scene very delicately.
I would highly encourage watching Lilies Not For Me. Everyone needs to know about the brutalities that were inflicted on people just trying to live, our fellow humans, so that we can stop anything like this happening again. Spread love, not hatred and bigotry.
