The past is certainly a difficult place for anyone to live, which has spurred so many artists to attempt to explore the layered histories of a particular time and place, drawing correlations between the lives of the people in the past and those who are alive today, particularly in finding connections between them in terms of shared experiences. Lukas Dhont, a filmmaker who has been hailed as a major voice in queer cinema by many, ventures into the past in the form of Coward, which takes place during the First World War and follows Pierre, a young soldier who has struggled not only to reckon with the fact that he is fighting in a perilous war, but also with the fact that he has not been embraced by his fellow soldiers, who treat him with contempt based on his reserved nature. He soon meets Francis, a more extroverted, eccentric young man who makes no effort to hide his homosexuality, which piques the curiosity of Pierre, who comes to realise that he is developing a same-sex attraction to his fascinating new friend, which only compounds when he discovers that Francis feels quite the same way, leading to a torrid romance, but one that proves to be short-lived as a result of societal pressures, as well as the scorn of their fellow soldiers, from whom they are forced to hide their budding relationship. As a premise, Coward seems exceptionally promising, especially since it takes place in a time when homosexuality was not as openly discussed with the appropriate care and affection – but unfortunately, as is far for the course with many contemporary filmmakers who are heavily inspired by social realism, the film falls apart at the seams, being the very definition of an overwrought, bloated bundle of emotions that never amounts to anything more than what we immediately see on screen, helmed by a director whose complete lack of subtletly and over-reliance on dense ideas dillutes an otherwise promising subject, turning it from a potentially devastating, profoundly moving portrait of young love, to a borderline manipulative experience that is both frustrating and genuinely quite unpleasant in a way that ultimately betrays all the goodwill this film developed based on its core themes.

The film industry has become far more receptive to the idea of making films that directly address queer issues, especially in terms of more complex, challenging stories that don’t just circle queerness, but actually explore it from the very foundation, including themes around identity and social pressures in the creation of vivid, complex portraits. Coward is a film that has a solid idea at its core, exploring the growing friendship and eventual romance between two young men who are fighting in the same war alongside thousands of their compatriots, yet feel like the only two outliers, solitary figures doomed to always exist on the margins until they find one another and discover the extent to which one person can help another through certain seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It’s a decent concept, especially when it explores the subjects of identity and masculinity, both of which are absolutely integral to understanding what Dhont wished to convey. The military is one of the most overtly masculine spaces to the present day (although we’ve seen enormous strides in terms of diversity, and it has grown to be a lot more equal over the years), one driven by a steadfast vision of what ideal masculinity should be – and there’s certainly been no shortage of examples of how queerness is often viewed as contradictory to the principles of this profession, even if sexual identity has nothing to do with the ability of an individual to defend their country. It becomes even more challenging when we look at a war that took place over a century ago, a time when many countries still considered homosexuality a disease or mental disorder, rather than just a deviance from social norms, which is how it is often framed today in many conservative circles. Coward looks at two young men who find each other at an opportune moment, where they are both trying to find their place in the world, but continuously seem to be at odds with a culture that simply does not provide the support that they need. These are important discussions, and Dhont goes out of his way to explore the relationship between these two young men, an objectively vital conversation when it comes to looking at how sexuality was perceived in the past. 

Unfortunately, Coward is a perfect example of how a good idea can descend into complete mediocrity when it is handled by someone who struggles with both the formal and tonal elements of a film. Visually, Coward is well-made, but we have to credit that to both the team hired to bring the First World War to life in terms of the costumes and production design, since there’s an abundance of detail that evokes a very distinct version of the past. However, as is often the case with well-made period dramas, the visual aesthetic may be striking, but they ultimately prove to be hollow when there is nothing to be done with these elements, which is precisely where this film begins to lose all of its momentum. Dhont simply does not have the skill needed to handle a film of this scope, since he fails to have even a modicum of the empathy needed for this film. We may look at Coward in the same way as Girl and Close, as supposedly deeply compassionate, empathetic works that explore the inner architecture of the minds of people trying to make their way through a world hostile to their very existence. This is true until we realise that there’s a difference between compassion and manipulation – the former invites us to feel certain emotions, while the latter forcibly leads us by the shoulder to a specific point, telling us exactly what to feel and implying that any other response is not correct. The lack of real character development and the constant sense of intense emotions ultimately ruins any hope this film had of being much more than an overwrought jumble of intense emotions. Dhont seems to not have much trust in the audience to actually give us the benefit of the doubt when it comes to our own interpretation, and this reflects immensely on every frame of this film, which lacks any sense of coherence, layering one emotion on another in the hopes that something will resonate, when in reality it is the complete opposite, as the audience is pushed further away from this story, growing weary at the lack of confidence in us to interpret these challenging emotions, and instead being told how and what to feel, which can be a profoundly frustrating experience and one that never amounts to anything valuable.

I would at least give credit to the actors, who have tended to be able to elevate the director’s material in previous films (even when the films surrounding them were not nearly as worthy of their performances), but Dhont enlists actors who simply struggle with the material. There is a tendency for many social realist directors to go out of their way to cast young actors who had limited or no experience at all, in the hopes of making a discovery and being able to boast about unearthing some exciting, raw talent. Neither Emmanuel Macchia (in his acting debut) nor Valentin Campagne are particularly good, and while I am sure they are capable of delivering strong performances under the right director, to be thrown directly into a film that is guided by emotion more than story is not an ideal place for any young actor to hone their craft, let alone actually learn about the process of bringing such a character to life. At no point do we feel the connection between these two actors, who are supposed to have some deep, profound chemistry, but who instead play off one another like adversaries who just happen to eventually fall in love, which is almost the complete opposite of what this film was trying to convey. They’re not untalented (since they manage to at least make some of the moments feel meaningful, even if only marginally), but rather are victims of a director who gave them far too much agency without providing the safety net required for when they take bold swings. They’re ultimately the ones who suffer the most, since it is through them that Dhont expresses his perspective on the world, but because it is so heavy-handed and forceful, our frustrations are reflected onto them. We can only hope that they are given more chances to remedy their participation in this overwrought mess of a film, which does absolutely none of its actors any favours, choosing to create characters that lack any nuance or complexity and ultimately causing the entire film to spiral out of control as a result of it never having any real perspective or handle on its emotions, which is rendered in every aspect, but most of all in the character development, which is beyond tacky in this already dense and overpopulated film.

I do tend to try and find the good in absolutely every film, and being harsh is not my usual modus operandi, especially for films that tell important stories or offer moments of representation, since that is always important. However, after three films that tend to veer towards the overtly heavy-handed (if not outright manipulative), I continue to wholeheartedly believe that Dhont is someone who simply does not have the vision that many seem to want him to define. I frankly do not find anything particularly meaningful or challenging about his work, and Coward continues to bolster my increasing sense of complete incredulity towards him. It’s nothing worth the time or effort to sit through what is essentially two absolutely dismal hours of meandering, bland storytelling, handcrafted by someone who is consistent in his inability to capture any even vaguely human emotions, instead opting for the most obvious, one-dimensional attempt at romantic storytelling imaginable. It’s an unfortunately very cold, unlikable film which is peculiar considering this is the kind of story that you would expect to be bold, beautiful and daring, but through being handled by a director who mistakes big emotions for actual sincerity, it falls apart at the seams. There’s absolutely nothing worth writing home about when it comes to Coward, a film that seems to have potential but squanders absolutely all of it through heavy-handed storytelling that goes absolutely nowhere, being as bland and mediocre as it can be, and only being viewed as passable because of the visual aesthetic, which misleads us into thinking this is some serious, complex romantic drama, when in reality it’s about as shallow and insincere as any other attempt to manipulate the audience into feeling dense, complex emotions. It’s a film that could not be over sooner, and it never achieves anything beyond the obvious, being an absolute misfire and one of the most heavy-handed experiences of the year.