On paper, at least, we would always prefer gay actors playing gay roles for several reasons, but there are wonderful exceptions, such as Irish Paul Mescal and British Josh O’Connor in The History of Sound.  O’Connor’s breakthrough role was playing a closeted gay farmer in God’s Own Country,  whilst Mescal made us all fall in love when playing gay in All of Us Strangers.  The two have shown such a sensitivity that they can inhabit queer roles without the merest hint of stereotyping.  When the movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival recently, it received rave reviews, although Mescal was annoyed by some (lazy) critics who insisted on comparing it to another queer period piece, Brokeback Mountain.

The History of Sound is adapted from a short story of the same name by Ben Shattuck and directed by the South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus (who won The Queer Palm at Cannes for ‘Beauty‘), and the film promises to tell a sweeping American story of love, loss, and folk music set in the early 20th century. It the tale of  Lionel (Mescal), a gifted young music student at the prestigious Boston Conservatory in 1917, who has a chance encounter with David (O’Connor) at the bar one night. After bonding over their shared love of folk tunes, the pair wind up in bed together, striking up a connection that will shape the rest of their lives.

Some time later, Lionel gets an invite from David to join him on an impromptu journey across rural New England where they’ll record and preserve the traditional music of Americana, and spend each night in a tent, side-by-side—fleeting glimpses over a world all their own……hence the comparison to Brokeback!

Hermanus , who is fast becoming one of Queerguru’s favorite directors (we LOVED Moffie)  explained his take in the film.“The History Of Sound is not simply the story of queer lives hidden due to a time of denial, of shame and secrecy,” the filmmaker shares. “It is the story of a man’s life, expressed through the power of sound—as memory, as emotion… As family. Made with a deep affection for cinema that does not shout or scream its intention, our film invites you to enjoy song and spirit, to celebrate life in all its wonder—its losses, its grief, its remembrance, and most of all, its undeniable and indelible mark—love.”