There comes a time in everyone’s life when they suddenly realise who they are supposed to be – or at least that’s the myth that we have been sold for decades. The belief that within us lurks our true identity patiently waiting to emerge is nothing more than a fallacy, since we’ve often found that exploring one’s identity is not always a particularly straightforward process, and can actually be quite daunting for those who are not entirely aware of how to navigate certain daily challenges while also attempting to come to terms with who they are inside. It’s a slightly contrived idea, but one that has been at the root of some tremendous works of art – and we find one of the more intriguing coming in the form of Straight Up, in which James Sweeney makes his feature directorial debut with the story of Todd, a gay man with obsessive-compulsive disorder who suddenly realises that he may not actually feel the way he has been led to believe, and instead his same-sex attraction is a manifestation of his internalised insecurity and his unwavering belief that everything that he struggles with is the product of being slightly off-kilter, functioning quite differently to those around him. This is only made more intense when he meets Rory, a similarly insecure young woman (albeit someone who possesses much more confidence), and the spark is immediate – they discover that they have a lot in common, but more importantly find a kindred spirit in one another, allowing them to feel a sense of security and comfort that none of their friends or family have been able to offer – and they find themselves gradually but steadily falling madly in love, not being aware of the peculiar consequences that they are about to face as a result. An absolute revelation in terms of both style and structure, Straight Up is one of the most endearing and compelling debuts of the past decade, a provocative and striking film that is unyielding in its attempts to explore a subject that many would view as regressive or far-fetched, but which ultimately form the foundation of a truly masterful comedy that is as thought-provoking as it is wholeheartedly entertaining, being surprising in every conceivable way and still finding space to be genuinely quite beautiful in the process.

Queer cinema has never been more vital than it is right now – and it is truly a good time to be a storyteller who peddles in these themes, since audiences are more receptive to the discussions surrounding sexuality more than ever, a result of the steadily growing sense of progressive ideology that is continuing to influence every conceivable medium, giving a platform to voices that were previously never afforded much of an opportunity to be heard. Sweeney worked for nearly a decade, making a series of short films that tackle some fascinating topics – and while it is not directly an adaptation, Straight Up seems very much inspired by his short film “Normal Doors”, which follows a similar structure of a young man dealing with both his sexuality and crippling OCD, and finding that it is only after being introduced to an enigmatic young woman that he finds himself on the road to recovery, or at least this is what he believes. For as long as we’ve been telling stories, the theme of identity has been quite prominent, and countless queer filmmakers have built their entire careers from the subject. Sweeney is just one of the more recent to provoke the conversation, and the results are quite fascinating. His main argument is one that we find is actually quite similar to a lot of contemporary discourse, which is essentially a fervent deconstruction of the belief in identity being concrete – for centuries, it seemed like sexuality was binary, with someone either being queer or not. This gradually progressed to becoming more of a spectrum, albeit one in which it seemed like someone still had to occupy the same position once they decided where they fit. The current generation is far more incredulous to the idea of sexuality and gender being static, and we’re slowly starting to see a rise in the belief that it is much more fluid, to the point where someone can easily go their entire life without ever feeling a particular connection to one of the countless labels that are used by the LGBTQIA+ community. Sexuality is fluid and unpredictable, which is both intimidating and joyful, and something that we find the director exploring extensively in Straight Up, a film that acknowledges that it doesn’t have the answers, but instead sets out to simply start the conversation, which is valuable in its own significant way.

As a writer and director, Sweeney is clearly very gifted – but we actually find that its in his acting that the most intriguing gifts reside, particularly since he clearly intended to star in the film (only first-time independent filmmakers seem able to get away with casting themselves in their debut features without having to be met with unnecessary criticism around the vanity of such a decision), and delivers a stellar performance. There were several opportunities for the film to become overwrought and unnecessarily mean-spirited, which would have happened had Sweeney chosen to trivialise the protagonist by turning him into a parody of both the neurodivergent and queer community, since he struggles to fit into society as a result of occupying both labels on which the film is built. This is such a poignant, heartfelt performance from someone who audiences were likely not familiar with at the time, but whose efforts to create this character (whose quirks clearly stem from Sweeney’s own life, although he does appear to be much more level-headed and self-aware than the protagonist) are a sign of his incredible ability to simply create someone who is both earnest and genuinely very compelling. He’s joined by Katie Findlay as the other half of the central duo, and much like Sweeney, she was a relative newcomer who immediately captures our attention through the might of her performance and her willingness to push herself further than anyone may expect. The two leads have exceptional chemistry, and while the impetus for the story is essentially how two polar opposites discover that they may be soulmates, their radical differences actually being the reason they become so close, there is something so wonderfully cohesive about their work and how they complement one another, creating such a compelling pair of protagonists who anchor this film and manage to sell us on absolutely every moment. They’re surrounded by a terrific supporting cast, some of which are slightly more familiar, but they’re nonetheless the main attraction, and the very reason Straight Up proves to be such a wildy effective and genuinely moving piece of cinema, filled with memorable moments that feel genuine and lived-in, based entirely on the great work done by the two leads.

There were many opportunities for Straight Up to descend into the typical cliches that we find often define this precise kind of independent comedy – but it doesn’t take long for it to become very clear that Sweeney is far from a novice, and has a command of his craft that is much less amateur than we may initially expect. This film deftly avoids resorting to the same hackneyed tropes that are typical of the genre – it never comes across as unnecessarily callous nor overly sentimental, and while there is no shortage of strong emotions contained within the narrative, it is all very carefully measured, with the director showing that he has a remarkable control over tone and mood, to the point where it becomes much less like the run-of-the-mill romantic comedies that we’ve seen over the past two decades, and more a throwback to the whip-smart, deeply compelling screwball comedies of the 1940s, which is clearly where Sweeney drew a lot of his inspiration – the rapid-fire dialogue, the outrageous humour offset by the slightest tinge of melancholy, and a narrative built around a pair of characters navigating a few challenges and coming to discover that they may be soulmates in the process. Sweeney knows that he is working with something special and outright refuses to resort to the same hackneyed techniques we frequently find in these productions. Instead, he keeps everything quite close to the surface – the emotions are sincere and driven less by an effort to force the audience to feel a certain sensation, and instead relying on our i inherent curiosity. It does tend to follow a traditional formula in terms of its structure, with the expected narrative components being used to guide the narrative, but its ultimately much more elegant than we would imagine, with its simplicity being a virtue and showing that Sweeney is not interested in aiming for the low-hanging fruit, choosing to rather take a longer route to get his message across, albeit one that has a lot more honesty and vulnerability as a result. It also helps that it is outrageously funny, especially in the moments where the stone-faced stoicism of the two characters is maximised for comedic effect, creating a film that is both quietly sophisticated and relentlessly entertaining in equal measure.

Straight Up could have very easily been nothing more than a twee, overly flippant attempt to investigate sexuality, identity and friendship, since we often see films produced that take a somewhat blasé approach to these themes, rarely (if ever) making contributions that are all that valuable or meaningful in hindsight. It feels like we are approaching a new frontier in queer filmmaking with films such as this – its one of the few genuinely compassionate examinations of asexuality that never trivialises the inability to develop sexual desire or treating it like a punchline, while also providing insights into the struggles of someone who is afflicted with OCD, which is in itself often treated like nothing more than a source of mockery in contemporary media, nothing more than a series of idiosyncratic quirks, rather than a disorder that can cause a lot of existential strife and feelings of rejection. As a whole, Straight Up is a deeply human film, finding humour in the gaps between touching moments, rather than treating these characters as thinly-drawn caricatures. Sweeney has a monumental future ahead of him, and while it took him over half a decade to make his second film (which is set to be released in a few months), his skill and brilliance is on display in every moment of this film, which proves to be a far more complex work than anyone could predict based on a cursory glance. Fantastic writing, strong performances and a self-assured sense of direction are all fundamental components that keep this film moving, allowing it flourish into a magnificent work of fiction that is both compelling and entertaining, a film that will likely age exceptionally well for several reasons, primarily through its empathy, heartfulness and ability to evoke laughter and provoke thought, all of which are entirely unexpected and the very root of what is bound to become a classic of contemporary queer filmmaking.