Written and directed by Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky, when lesbian teen Jaime is sent to live in a Jehovah’s Witness community, she falls hard for a devout Witness girl and the two embark on an intense affair with consequences that will reshape the rest of their lives. Starring: Anwen O’Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban, Antoine Yared, Hasani Freeman and Deragh Campbell.
While it’s important to have more and more stories of simpler LGBTQ+ existence, to show the everyday life, there are still also a lot of areas where homophobia runs rampant to be explored. To keep portraying the need for progress and religion is certainly a big part of that, in this case Jehovah’s Witnesses. In that sense, this story goes in the exact direction you think it’s going to, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does mean there aren’t any surprises in store. It’s telling us a story we’ve seen before but in a new light, it still has something to bring to the table. A lot of that is its natural, sweet tone, there’s an unassuming quality to the way that it moves which is captivating.
Visually, it’s much the same, it’s embracing that simple, teen drama, it’s not going for flash and edge, it’s grounded and charming. There’s something to its style that feels familiar and nostalgic, it’s warm and accessible. It does also bring through that big romantic edge but it can feel somewhat rocky, despite the atmosphere feeling very organic, the progression of Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll) and Marike’s (June Laporte) affection comes across rushed. It starts off extremely slowly, then brings through the classic teen hormones and ramps things up dramatically, which doesn’t work well. It also struggles in wrapping up the story and it feels as though it takes the easy way out, picking something far too simplified.
The performances on the other hand are consistently superb throughout, Anwen O’Driscoll has a great tone of independence and compassion. June Laporte brings a fascinatingly natural confidence to June, it’s surprising and refreshing to see a teen character so at ease in her own skin, at least on the surface. Their chemistry is endearing, starting off nicely with a solid friendship before blossoming and then taking off. One of the unexpected elements is how brilliant the friendship is between Jaime and Nathan (Hasani Freeman), it’s really lovely to watch their hugely supportive relationship. Freeman gives a wonderful performance, it’s genuinely a shame to not see more from him, and he’s definitely a name to keep an eye on.
You Can Live Forever is a sweet, endearing exploration of lesbian romance in a close-minded community. It hits all the typical notes that you expect but still manages to make its mark. Sadly, it does take the easy road as things near the end and it’s a shame not to see it go for something more original. Regardless, it’s filled with strong performances and has a lot of charm and warmth to offer.
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