Review: National Anthem (2023)

National Anthem (2023)
Directed by Luke Gilford

I keep having dreams about finding a bunch of people who welcome me completely into their space. Sometimes the dream is about going to college for the first time and there’s already a group of sweet people who live in the dorm and immediately make me part of their crowd. Sometimes it’s a theater group doing a show in which I have a role, and I become part of the family. But it’s always about being seen for who I really am, and loved for myself, not in spite of myself.

“National Anthem,” a debut feature by Luke Gilford, is a lot like one of those dreams — especially in the way the story is secondary to the mise-en-scene of the ranch where much of the film is set. Dylan, a 21-year-old day laborer, happens upon the place when he’s hired by Pepe (Rene Rosado), the owner. Unlike the anonymous Latino laborers who are hired with him, Dylan (Charlie Plummer) is white, blond, and frankly gorgeous. Unlike any of the other ranches in the area, the House of Splendor is inhabited by a number of drag queens and transexual cowgirls, some of whom are performers in a queer-friendly rodeo circuit.

The film takes a frictionless approach to the existence of its characters in the world. While any given 21-year-old white construction worker might be at least taken aback by the sight of begowned drag queens riding horses and driving tractors, Dylan quietly enjoys the view. It doesn’t take long before Sky (Eve Lindley), a young woman resident — whom I supposed was a transwoman without that ever being made crystal clear — begins flirting with Dylan. She is the partner of ranch owner Pepe — he may as well be named Papi, given his pater familias role. They have an open relationship, she informs Dylan, and furthermore their canoodling is “just fun,” but that doesn’t keep them from falling in love.

In any other movie, this love triangle would lead to confrontation. But Pepe is so clearly the man in charge and Dylan never more than a temporary visitor, that we don’t get any jealous remarks or huffy moments. Instead there’s a threesome, after which Dylan messes something up so badly that he has to leave. That’s pretty much the whole story — as I said, frictionless.

There’s also an important counter-reality: Dylan’s home life. He’s still living with his single mother Fiona (Robyn Lively) and little brother Cassidy (Joey DeLeon). His mom, who cuts hair, is still sowing some wild oats, bringing home men in the wee hours and, at one point, stealing money from Dylan’s cash stash. That makes the House of Splendor a welcome escape for Dylan and for Cassidy. But this home-life subplot is underwritten; it’s never clear kind of midlife crisis Fiona, a 45-year-old woman, is going through. Lively is a fine actress with a long television career and capable of leading roles, so I was a little frustrated that I didn’t get to see more of her.

The film is much more concerned with sharing the scene at the ranch and the beauty of the residents’ lives. At one point everyone takes mushrooms and winds up in a cuddle puddle, which leads to the above-mentioned threesome. In another scene, Dylan tags along with the family to a queer rodeo, where — there’s no other way to put this — he is initiated into bull riding by a bull dyke who is a bull rider. Yes, it is his first rodeo. But it clearly won’t be his last.