Based on writer/director Hayley Kiyoko’s hit single and best-selling novel of the same name and featuring all-new music from Kiyoko, Girls Like Girls is her directorial debut for a feature film—for a story she speaks about very fondly. I came in with some listening time to Kiyoko’s songs over the years and recognized her fan base title of ‘Lesbian Jesus’. I was excited to see how well this fared against other queer love films like Blood Lines and The Wedding Banquet.
Girls Like Girls follows Nicole/Coley (Maya da Costa), 17, a girl from rural Oregon, who navigates intimacy after her mother’s passing. Meeting Sonya (Myra Molloy) sparks new feelings, but self-doubt hinders their connection. Sonya, unfamiliar with dating girls, is uncertain. They learn to embrace emotions. It was no joke that the emotions were sparking and engulfing the big screen.
Girls Like Girls had some relatable moments that any teenager in love would experience, especially that awkwardness of being around someone you really like. I will admit, I still get that awkward at the age of 30 when I am around someone who I am hitting it off with. I would have liked to see Kiyoko tackle the biracial aspect alongside the coming-of-age lesbian experience. However, I am aware this is based on Kiyoko’s own experiences, and maybe that was not the focus for this story.
“The silence between the two spoke volumes, but there was no context for their relationship established at the beginning.”
The chemistry between da Costa and Molloy was pretty solid. I felt like they were pretty cheesy when they were drunk in love, but showed off their acting skills when the going got tough. The weakest chemistry seeped through between da Costa and Zach Braff as Coley’s estranged father. For the first act and a half, Braff had minimal lines and conflict with Coley. The silence between the two spoke volumes, but there was no context for their relationship established at the beginning. We learn about their dynamics at the end of Act Two, and that left a strange feeling for me, even though the emotions hit later.
From the cinematography of a queer, lesbian film like Girls Like Girls, I was hoping to see some great colouring and vibrancy. Unfortunately, I was let down in this aspect. I appreciated all the shots that captured the melancholy of summer in a small town with vast forests. The natural lens flare and sunlight beaming into each scene were stunning, given that this was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.
However, almost everything in Girls Like Girls with colour felt muted. I loved the small hints of colours in Coley’s drapes, showing her quiet queerness where she can. I thought this was an accurate case of 2006 still being a rough time for young adults to be openly gay, let alone in a small town like Oregon. Maybe the point of the film was to reflect Coley’s quiet lesbian attraction with subtle colours, same with the lack of music.
“Girls Like Girls intimately explores the struggles of finding love while navigating loss, and figuring out the type of feminine character a young queer girl like Coley wants to be.”
Girls Like Girls‘s quietness made it seem as though Coley never learned to embrace her true self. I find myself at odds, thinking the vision was to show the difficulties of showing queer love in a time when it was not a social norm to be loud and proudly gay. That battle continues to this day. But I would have liked to see some distinctive vibrance, even through Coley’s dark times. Sonya should be a beacon of light, adding her bright palette against Coley’s cloud of gloom hanging over her; but we do not get that.
Girls Like Girls intimately explores the struggles of finding love while navigating loss, and figuring out the type of feminine character a young queer girl like Coley wants to be. While I feel like this movie lays bare Hayley Kiyoko’s personal experiences, this introspection should have amplified the parallels between Kiyoko’s life and the movie to the fullest. Regional age ratings for this film range from PG to R, and that says a lot. It also calls into question whether the film board knows how to classify who this film is for. Still, I thought it was a decent film to come out on Pride Month—just not one I will be raving about.
