Lilies Not for Me is not a love story; it’s a horror story.
If Ryan Murphy were to remake the film’s events in a season of American Horror Story, they would be perfect.
Or, maybe he creates another anthology show titled Gay Horror Story.
However, as a film, Lilies Not for Me is an excellent work of art. It’s hard to believe the film is Will Seefried‘s directorial debut.
It all starts with a well-written script that captures the main characters and their dynamics so well that viewers feel like they’ve known them forever when translated to the screen.
Fionn O’Shea‘s performance as Owen is the standout, even if all the cast members do an excellent job of bringing their characters to life.
O’Shea definitely proved this writer wrong with his work here because when I was first introduced to him in Handsome Devil, I doubted whether he could pull off this role.
Owen is the kind of role that proves to an actor that they got it and proves to the industry that the actor is worth it. Here’s to hoping it opens more doors for him.
Supported by Robert Aramayo and Louis Hoffman‘s fantastic performances, Lilies Not for Me blooms.
‘Lilies Not for Me’ Doesn’t Waste Anything
The film is neither short nor long, at approximately one and a half hours. It hits that sweet spot.
Still, movies on this side of time can waste too much time with unnecessary detours, failing to drive their point home.
What’s particularly impressive is how the movie uses every second it has to build itself.
Every detail mentioned in the dialogue will greatly influence the future.
It’s not once or twice that something will happen and the metaphorical bulb goes off. Uh, so that’s what that detail was for?
Excellent mystery shows and movies achieve this feat. Lilies Not for Me is neither, but somehow, it works.
It seems like the director and film editor are looking to save as much time as possible, and they work the scenes in a way that gets the point across without dwelling too much on it.
This creates a tight film with many impressive revelations.
‘Lilies Not for Me’ Is a Horror Story
As a sucker for a good gay love story, I expected Owen and Phillip’s love story to be something epic.
Set in the countryside by the ocean, what place is more romantic than this?
However, from the first time Phillip visits, it becomes clear that this love story is never blossoming.
Despite their obvious attraction (15 years in the making), Owen and Phillip have different views on their relationship.
Phillip thinks something is wrong with who they are, while Owen loves himself unconditionally.
This juxtaposition of characteristics creates tension that goes nowhere in most instances. It becomes frustratingly repetitive for several scenes when tension builds up and then crumbles.
However, the payoff is great when Phillip gives in for a short period, and they have what could have been for that duration.
The second half of the film is where the horrors begin.
We’ve been exposed to various forms of homophobia, but none is worse than internalized homophobia.
It kills someone from the inside, and typically, nothing anyone can do to help.
With Phillip, Lilies Not for Me explores the lengths people who have been taught they’re wrong can go to make themselves right.
It was shocking to see the procedure Phillip proposed to cure themselves.
Never have I ever wished to see a lobotomy (however awful it is) used to “treat homosexual tendencies.” At least that is evil that we’re familiar with.
I could almost feel my testicles shrink at the thought.
A lot of what unfolds takes us deeper into the mind of a twisted scientist.
In Conclusion
Everything comes full circle as something Owen had run away from for so long befalls him. That’s the final horror.
It’s a shocking but befitting ending that concludes Lilies Not for Me, while driving home the message.
The atrocities that have been rained on gay people for centuries know no bounds, and while testicular transplants are not done today, these practices still exist.
Conversion therapy has taken a different form, but the pain and hurt are still present. And even for gay people like Owen, who don’t have themselves, other people’s hate ends up finding them.
Stray Thoughts
- This movie’s score and music is quite good
- Now, sex on top of a tree is something alright. Was it a response to Luca Guadagnino‘s decision to avoid sex in Call Me by Your Name by panning to a tree outside? If so, I approve!
- It was sinister to give Owen a new lover while his old one withers on the couch and watches helplessly. That’s the kind of evil we ought to celebrate.
- The ending gave me the chills. Wow! Just, wow!