Sorry Angel | Christophe Honoré | NYFF 2018
Sorry Angel, the new film from French filmmaker Christophe Honore, focuses on two men who find romance with one another when they’re at very different points of their lives.
It takes place in 1993, with AIDS casting a dark ominous shadow for many. This includes Jacques (Pierre Deladonchamps), an author with a decent claim to fame. He strikes up a relationship with a much younger man named Arthur (Vincent Lacoste), who embarks on this affair despite already having a relationship with a woman.
As their relationship develops, they realize they’re both at different places in life and that they naturally have a different sort of realistic expectations and goals of where they see it headed in mind. For instance, Jacques has a lot on his plate, from his illness to trying to raise his son Louis (Tristan Farge) throughout all of these confusing matters.
While the film has some lighthearted humorous moments shared between the men and Jacques’ vibrant gay neighbor and friend Mathieu (Denis Podalydes), there’s a dark cloud that hangs over it all with the necessary elements that capture the AIDS epidemic accurately and with the severe seriousness that it no doubt deserves.
While many stories about the tragic nature of AIDS can be melodramatic and even hokey, Honoré manages to capture it with enough heart and passion without ever being leaning too far into melodrama. It doesn’t bring enough new to the mix to stand out amongst some stronger recent efforts in the same vein (such as last years BPM) but his screenplay and the performances are enough to make this a solid drama that mostly succeeds.
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