cinUma Spotlight: Snapshots (2018)

As a celebration of Pride month, I thought my first cinUma Spotlight piece should be on one of the films I watched at the BFI Flare festival in March.

More than anything, the films I watched had me thinking about how although films about being queer highlight there is an inequality, representation is more than that. Watching any kind of film and seeing a character like you should be a normality for all of us.

This year at Flare, that’s what I saw. A tale of star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of the death penalty debate (My Days of Mercy); a modern-day lesbian vampire story based on a 19th century gothic novella (The Carmilla Movie); a genre movie with influences such as Don't Look Now and David Lynch films (Rift/Rökkur); and everything you ever wanted to to see in a loveable Hallmark-type movie (Snapshots). For me, that is when representation at its best.

Snapshots, as the name suggests, is a series of flashbacks to a lesbian romance in the sixties. The framing narrative is in the present, with Rose (Piper Laurie) remembering her romance with Louise (Emily Goss) when her daughter and granddaughter come to visit, bringing developed photos from Rose’s old camera. Young Rose (Shannon Collis) and Louise have a love story so compelling it’s hard to not fall for this movie.

The reason why this film works is that it is a cheesy rom-com, but without the overbearing heteronormative clichés. Although Rose never gets her happy romantic ending, she finally comes out to her family, and that in a sense is as happy as her ending can be. There is also the idea that her granddaughter gets the love story ending that she was never fully allowed, avoiding the tragic endings that are unhealthily common in lesbian romances.

Dealing with complex thematics, it is in no way mediocre. The parallels between Rose and her granddaughter Allison (Emily Baldoni) show that the film acknowledges that LGBTQ+ visibility and rights are so different in the two time settings. Whereas Rose cannot even consider the possibility of running away with Louise and starting a life with her, Allison is allowed to choose her happiness, even if there is still prejudice against her. The striking differences between the two time periods in this way, but also visually, are incredibly important to how the film works dynamically.

Partly because it's based on a true story of the director's mother, the film creates a vitality in both time periods and an important conversation between the two. As a story, it is well told and a lesbian rom-com is a type of story that we need more of, which is precisely why Snapshots is my first cinUma Spotlight.

Snapshots is available to rent and buy online on YouTube, iTunes, Google Play and Amazon! (UK links)