‘National Anthem’ Review: Luke Gilford’s Light, Gender-Fluid Rites-Of-Passage Movie Blazes A Mild Trail Through The Wild West – SXSW
Thankfully there seems to have been a moratorium lately on movies that mine the LGTBQ+ experience for tragedy and awards. There’s also been a move towards authenticity, notably in the area of casting trans actors for trans roles, and both of those factors help and hinder photographer Luke Gilford’s feature debut, a film as rich in personality as a Diane Arbus snap but, dramatically, about as punchy as an instalment of High School Musical. In another year, this might be more of a problem than it actually is, since, perhaps more by coincidence than design, National Anthem arrives at a time when everything it celebrates is under attack, and such a low-key affirmation of personal growth and freedom might actually be what we really need right now.