Freak Show is a film starring Alex Lawther. It is a film about youth and growth. It was once on the top list in my mind.
The male protagonist, Billy, is an atypical middle school student, a typical alien in the eyes of people. He went to school in fancy clothes, exaggerated expressions, and said "Hey, Girl", plus he was gay, it was a combination of all kinds of characteristics that were easily rejected, and he really became a person because of his image. A living target for most of the school. The rejection from the students and teachers makes Billy explode, and he decides to put on more exaggerated clothes to face the battle.
Billy is brave. He can still stick to his style and clothing concept in such a conservative and stressful environment (not). He replaced obedience and compromise to environmental rules with resistance and persistence. And this is also the point that the film hopes to highlight, insisting on yourself and not paying too much attention to the worldly vision.
On the other hand, Billy is not special, he can be every one of us. Everyone is different, and it is impossible to perfectly meet the requirements and expectations of society everywhere. We have so much uniqueness that we hide from ourselves because we have to adapt to the rules of the environment, like an angel folds his wings to squeeze into a cage. Most people, including me, are probably reluctant or even afraid to fight the established rules. I remember the day my father told me there was nothing wrong with being the majority. Most people may be willing to be ordinary people, what time to do, and what rules to obey under what circumstances. However, what kind of talents are ordinary people, and what kind of rules should we be consistent with, we need to take as a standard, and we must abide by it all the time? The same is true in the movie. Billy is not the only gay in the school, and Billy is not the only one who does not meet the expectations of parents, but most of them hide themselves and become so-called shadow people or simply disguise themselves as ordinary people like Bernard, and even attack by attacking others to articulate their position as an ordinary person.
When it comes to Bernard and Flip, I always think they are a little bit similar, but one is more ruffian and the other is well-behaved. They all have images that they hope to hide. Bernard likes boys, but doesn't want to face the gossip in school, and Flip is more like a painter, but his image in his family and in society is a baseball genius who will shine in the baseball world. At the same time, they also hope to change the male lead. Bernard has always been cynical to the male protagonist, ridiculed in every possible way. And Flip, as a friend, persuaded Billy to become a normal boy. But how can everyone's personality, sexual orientation, hobbies, etc. be able to disappear out of thin air in repression.
Generally speaking, Freak Show is a relatively well-established youth film, and the theme concept is not very special. But it does a good job of saying "Be Yourself". The whole storyline plus Xiao A's fancy dress show is enough for me to watch it three times and still love it. At the same time, the film is also full of power, especially in the second half, which can make you shout Billy's line: "Over My Dead Body!" full of words)
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