In cinemas this Wednesday, April 29, Immediate Boarding traces the post-breakup itinerary of a gay thirty-something, blending chilling realism with welcome touches of humor.
Frozen in his sadness, unable to accept his breakup with Jake, Benji returns alone to Amsterdam to the Airbnb apartment the couple used to rent. Alone, he recalls their story. It is through deft narrative devices and not without a certain humor that Immediate Boarding, in theaters this April 29, traces their relationship, toxic, on the edge of control.
Benji, a plump thirty-something with no particular history, had met Jake, the epitome of the gay masculine ideal, at an airport and had crossed his fingers for him to notice him… A one-night stand, then another, and the two men regularly end up in the Dutch capital for weekends of nights out, drinking, and of course sex. But when Benji begins to develop feelings and his expectations shift, his lover pushes back. The words become harsh, the tone cuts, the gestures become abrupt. The prince charming of the early days is replaced by a deceitful and manipulative tormentor.
Rebuilding Narrative
While it shows the violence—often psychological, sometimes physical—of Benji’s history with Jake, the film digs into other forms of gay brutality. Like that disturbing scene where, after his breakup, Benji wishes to have sex with a dominant man he finds on a dating app, and things go awry when the latter relentlessly urges him to take drugs. Benji’s voice accompanies us throughout the film, and his very British humor allows Immediate Boarding to never sink into darkness and to adopt a surprising, yet charming, tone.
Premier long-métrage des cinéastes anglais Lloyd Eyre-Morgan (qui campe également le rôle principal du film) et Neil Ely, Immediate Boarding vise juste à plusieurs endroits. En plus de pousser le public gay à interroger ses fantasmes – miser sur des “hétéros” qui peinent à accepter leur penchant pour les hommes est rarement une sage décision –, le film s’apparente à un parcours initiatique assez universel sur cette première relation amoureuse qui abîme mais qui, cruciale, nous aide à affiner nos attentes et réhausser nos standards amoureux.
