There's a moment in Ira Sachs’ latest modern Parisian love story in which the freewheeling Tomas (Fran Rogowski) excitedly informs his softly spoken husband, Martin (Ben Whishaw), that he had sex with a woman the previous night. The scene breaks several expectations the viewer may have; Martin isn’t furious at this betrayal. Merely unimpressed and disinterested. Nor are we subjected to questions like; "wait, so you’re not gay?" or "what was it like, different?". And that’s when you realise, we’re past all that, well, these characters are anyway.
In a recent Q&A in Dublin’s IFI, writer/director Ira Sachs, a middle-aged gay man, shared how his friends, also middle-aged gay men, found it hard to believe that Tomas could so easily "switch" and sleep with a woman. Fortunately, he ignored that piece of feedback and followed his instincts that sexual preferences of the younger generation portrayed in Passages weren’t as tied to their identity as his generation, everything is a bit more fluid. So, there’s no discussion of "switching sides" or "betraying your community". A theme that populated scripts such as 1997’s Chasing Amy, Kevin Smith’s love story of a gay woman who falls for Ben Affleck, much to the chagrin of her social circle. It's refreshing.
When we’re introduced to Tomas, a German filmmaker living in Paris with his British husband, we see him directing a film on the final day of a shoot. He berates an actor for failing to perform what he considers a simple action. Here, Tomas comes across as unpleasant but entertainingly amusing in his frustrated anger and passion, leading the viewer to question whether or not you should like this person. It’s something they might still be wondering by the time the credits roll. At the wrap party Tomas’ husband Martin exits early, Tomas is left with a friend of a mutual acquaintance, French schoolteacher Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and the love triangle begins. Tomas almost sociopathically ping-ponging between his two lovers. And despite us knowing that Agathe and Martin deserve a lot better treatment, their pull toward this infectiously passionate man is understandable
The three leads fizzle on screen, compellingly attractive and human characters with desires and instincts that constantly contradict logic. Despite being written and directed by an American and the fact that it’s largely in English (it’s the only language the trio have in common) the film is very far from Hollywood, much like Woody Allen’s output in the noughties, this has a distinctly European feel.
An unpredictable film about frustrating but fascinating people that’s very much made for adults. Adults who will soon be compelled to move to Paris, the city has never looked more appealing.
