Pride Special: 'Two Little Boys'—short film about repercussions of homophobia
Two Little Boys is a short film available on YouTube about the repressed emotions of a gay teenager and his violent encounter with the boy he is in love with. The other boy is a closeted teenager and has turned so due to his mother's intense amount of homophobia. Despite having only three characters, the short is memorable, impactful, and packed with incredible tension.
This is story of Josh, Tyler
In this 13-minute-long short, the action comes before the dialogue, and you gradually get an understanding of the plot as the film progresses. The entire film plays out in a school's dimly lit washroom where Tyler (the closeted guy) beats up Josh violently because Josh has falsely accused him of raping him, and now, Tyler's mother is on the way to the school.
Sense of fear looms large in short
A sentiment of fear spreads like an undercurrent from the very first scene till the last. It's palpable, so much so that when we first see Josh, he already looks bruised, battered, and forlorn, as if the willingness to live has been completely squeezed out of him. He is afraid of Tyler, who is terrified of his mother finding out that he is gay.
Violence constitutes an important part of story
Tyler makes use of his fists and duct tape to get Josh to confess that his accusations were far from the truth; however, that does not budge Josh, who is desperately looking for a moment of confrontation with Tyler. In a pivotal scene where Josh's voice quivers, he reads out a love letter to Tyler and Tyler snaps—he doesn't want to, he has to.
Why does Tyler behave the way he does?
The film makes a point about how taxing it is for closeted people to embrace their significant others without the fear of breaking religious or societal constructs. When Josh begins reading his letter, and Tyler realizes he is going to be ousted as a homosexual in front of his friend Sam (the third character in the story), an overwhelming sense of dread overpowers him.
Film's ending shot ties narrative together
When TLB inches toward the end and Josh and Tyler meet their separate ends, the film cuts to a flashback, and we finally realize why, despite having tinges of softness inside him, Tyler turns out to be a bully. As it turns out, the boys "kissed" when they were mere kids, which enraged Tyler's mother, who angrily taught him, "You don't kiss a boy."
Watch it on YouTube this weekend!
Short films are challenging to execute since a lot has to be said in a limited time, and Two Little Boys scores marks on almost all fronts: story, production design, pacing, and acting. It's also remarkable how the deeply embedded element of fear emanates from a character we only hear just once! You can watch it on director Farbod Khoshtinat's YouTube channel.
