When you are done watching ‘He Won’t Belong’, an emotional resonance lingers. In the loss, grief, and trauma the narrative portrays, even in how the visuals wrap themselves around all of these sentiments, the lingering remains omnipresent. 

The film is the story of two strangers, Theo and Connor, stumbling across each other in the most unlikely manner. The former finds the latter wandering alone by the side of the road during a storm. The chance encounter, however, leads the two, and the viewer along with them, down a path of deep emotional truths, sometimes painful, sometimes disturbing, but forever demanding to be felt and acknowledged. 

The authenticity of the voice with which the film is constructed remains loud and clear. Additionally, it presents an approach to queer storytelling that explores the nuance and complexity of personal journeys that is often easy to overlook. The performances bring to life a remarkable portrayal of vulnerability as they explore ideas of love with heartbreaking honesty. The visual progression is equally stunning, painting for the viewer an image that will stay with you, linger, as it may, long after you are done watching the film.

He Won't Belong   | Short Film of the Month

The notions pertaining to sin, guilt, temptation and punishment often operate within absolutes to the extent of leaving no space for the possibility of redemption. The neatly defined categories of black and white, completely devoid of even a suggestion of greyness, comes to shape and mould institutions like religion and, in turn, their relationship with sexuality and other bodily desires. The short film is an attempt to engage with the same thematic concerns, employing visuals that employ biblical and medieval motifs and imagery. 

 The final result, in the process, becomes not an attack against a particular religion, but instead remains a piece of work that compels the viewer to toy with a reality that extends beyond these monolithic structures, whichever form they may have acquired in their own individual lives. The poetry of the visuals is significant for its otherworldliness as well as the surreal darkness it invokes on screen. 

 The tone, approach and treatment of the many ideas that rest within the folds of In the Dark make it a uniquely notable film to watch, leaving the viewer with the welcome prospect of more such projects by the team.

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