Institute History
Description
In 2007, Michael Glatze, the gay-rights advocate who embodied queer identity, shocked his friends and followers when he publicly renounced his homosexuality. What could have led to such an extreme change of belief?
Justin Kelly’s piercing exploration is as compelling and complex as Michael’s transformation. The film depicts the years when an idealistic Michael, with his long-term partner, empowered a new generation of gay youth through their writing and films. When a nerve-racking brush with death triggers his need to reconcile faith and sexuality, Michael embarks on a zealous search for answers that eventually leads him to Christianity and the absolute conviction that "homosexuality is death."
Kelly’s intricate non-linear structure engrossingly magnifies each step and draws seemingly incongruent thematic and character thru-lines. It also elicits a maddening sympathy (portrayed with aching effect by Franco). With an acute sense of storytelling, Kelly raises much more complex questions about one man’s startling capacity to create, destroy, and reclaim his truth. —C.D.