National Anthem (2023) review

Soft-spoken Dylan (Charlie Plummer), who lives in New Mexico with his single mother Fiona (Robyn Lively) and little brother Cassidy (Joey DeLeon), works construction jobs to financially support them and then lands a temporary gig working at an LGBTQ+ ranch owned by Pepe (Rene Rosado) but makes the mistake of falling in love with Pepe's amorous girlfriend, trans woman Sky (Eve Lindley).  If you've ever seen Gilford's photography (and I do recommend you take a look if you haven't), one of his main areas of focus is breaking down taboos regarding "cowboys" - who are traditionally regarded as "masculine" and "heterosexual" - and turns Pepe's "world" into a Queer Utopia, except the end product is rather vague and underwritten.  While it's mercifully missing homophobic types to mock and taunt the cast (which would have been easy to do), the characters do not undergo substantial changes: Fiona somehow "recovers" from her alcoholism, Dylan isn't really "troubled" by discovering his "true self" and the primary "villain" (if you can even consider it that) is jealousy ... yet that's swiftly handled with minimal emotional damage.  The 35mm cinematography by Katelin Arizmendi gives it a warm feeling (it's a pretty picture), and although many praise the two leads, I think Mason Alexander Park's Carrie is most noteworthy as the film's voice of reason (and requires more screen roles ... immediately).