Unlike other film festivals around the globe, Sundance has been ahead of the curve when it comes to telling LGBTQIA+ stories whether in narrative or documentary form. That was once again evident in 2024 with the festival selecting films such as “Layla,” “Sebastian,” “My Old Ass,” “Stress Positions” and “Ponyboi.” One NEXT slate selection that attempted to cross the lines of both documentary and drama is Jules Rosskam’s “Desire Lines.” Sadly, like many world premieres in its genre this year, it comes up disappointingly short.
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Written by Nate Gualtieri, “Desire Lines” begins with Ahmad (Aden Hakimi), a researcher visiting a fictional historical LGBTQai+ archive in Chicago. He’s immediately assisted by Kieran (Theo Germaine), an employee of the archive who is also a trans man and can’t hide his attraction to the facility’s new visitor. Before even a hint of story beyond that setup is explored, the film transitions to a talking head documentary discussing the history of transmasculine men specifically into other men and, mostly, their sexual desires and experiences. This is also framed through found interviews featuring Lou Sullivan, a female-to-gay male activist from the 1980s. Despite being an icon for many trans men, Sullivan is not as well known in the Queer community as he should be, which, at a minimum, makes Rosskam and Gualtieri’s exploration of this subject matter genuinely noteworthy.
In fact, what the trans men identifying participants have to say about their lives and desires is what is most compelling about the endeavor. One subject volunteered that when they identified as a lesbian or queer woman they never thought of having sex with a man, but when they started identifying as a man and began taking male hormones their perceptions and needs changed. They never thought they would be attracted to men and now, much to their surprise, they were. Some have even had sexual encounters with CIS “straight” men only to find themselves having to deal with the dangers of not only HIV but other sexually transmitted diseases that were not a concern when they lived as women exclusively seeing other women.
Both the fiction and interview subjects also focus on bathhouses which is intriguing on a historical level. The AIDS epidemic saw many bathhouses close down in major cities across the country and while some still exist, the movie is sort of fixated on their contemporary relevance. This is true for Chicago where the movie takes place (Steamworks probably never thought it would get so much love in a Sundance movie), but they are not a fixture in the United States queer community at this time. The amount of creative energy focused on this is almost a quizzical distraction to the larger thematic points the movie is trying to make.
As for the storyline between Ahmad and Kieran? Despite tantalizingly referencing the former’s Iranian immigrant past it all sort of falls flat. Regardless of the actors’ efforts, you simply are not invested in either character whatsoever. It’s unclear whether this is because the actors are simply too green for these roles or it’s the result of Rosskam’s weak direction. Maybe it’s both. Maybe not.
Moreover, despite decades of experience as a documentary filmmaker, Rosskam struggles to juggle the non-fiction and the narrative elements. The acting, as hinted at, is awkward. The editing is jarring. Often, the narrative parts of the movie feel more like a filmed stage production or installation piece than whatever stylistic aesthetic Rosskam is going for. That’s a valid artistic choice if it’s intentional, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be.
Unfortunately, there are more issues at play. At an hour and 23 minutes (closer to an hour and 17 minutes to be fair), “Desire Lines” seems to be stretching out the proceedings to get to a feature film length. There is potent material in the interview aspects of the project, but the result would be more succinct if it was conceived as a short documentary film or even an hour-long doc. Oh, and did we mention that filmmaker throws in moments where he breaks the fourth wall and edits his interview files on screen and puts them in different file folders? Or all of a sudden interview subjects begin to talk to each other in setups that appear as though they are a YouTube video a Conde Naste publication would create? These unsteady choices only contribute to making the film seem like it’s spinning in way too many directions.
It goes without saying that the experiences of transmen deserve a platform. A spotlight is necessary for the greater world to understand their journeys. Whatever that movie is should be something much less messy and frustrating than this. [C]
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