Lukas Moodysson

A fine film crowned by a sweet ending, which brings fresh literalness to the notion of coming out of the closet.

A glimpse at the synopsis of Lukas Moodysson‘s directorial debut, a study of the burgeoning lesbian relationship between two Swedish teenage girls, might elicit a Terry-Thomas-style, “I say!” from the pervy element. Anyone hoping for a soft-porn fest, however, would be disappointed.[I] Show Me Love[/I] is a sensitive, shrewd, funny examination of angst and longing that will have anyone who has ever been a teenager wincing with empathy. Acne, vomiting, horniness, humiliation – it’s all here.

The use of a largely amateur cast serves to add to the film’s sense of naturalism. Agnes (Liljeberg) lives in the dullsville town of Amal and pines for the slutty school rebel blonde Elin (Dahlstrvm), a love she only dare speak of to her home computer diary. The cleverness of [I]Show Me Love[/I], however, is its reversal of subject-object. It becomes Elin‘s story, her realisation of her true feelings, rather than that of Agnes.

The one implausible aspect of [I]Show Me Love[/I] is the almost excessive reasonableness of Agnes‘ parents in the face of her tantrums. Then again, this is Sweden. A fine film crowned by a sweet ending, which brings fresh literalness to the notion of coming out of the closet.

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