While there seems to be an ever-increasing number of gay-themed films, it’s still rare for a really, really good one to come along, but that’s just what we’ve got with Stranger By The Lake. The fact it’s an excellent movie has become somewhat obscured by the buzz around the movie’s sex. It’s all been slightly blown out of proportion, as certain reports that it’s the most explicit movie ever released in normal cinemas have certainly jumped into the world of hyperbole.
That said, it may be getting close to the record for the amount of male full-frontal nudity, as there is a massive amount of it. One of the main characters probably only wears clothes for about five minutes out of the entire running time. However there’s less actual sex than many have suggested (some have said it’s basically shagging from start to finish), although what it does have is explicit including a couple of shots of unsimulated fellatio and ejaculation and highly erotic. Many films with explicit sex deliberately try to shy away from eroticism, seemingly terrified of being labelled porn, but Stranger By The Lake isn’t afraid of that. Instead it wants to look at the power of sex, its excitement and how it can feel dangerous and transgressive, yet also intimate and emotional.
However it’s not just a film about sex, as it also covers the broader need for human connection and how different aspects of this can compete with one another in potentially self-destructive ways.
Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a young man who likes to go cruising. He heads to a lake most days where he sunbathes nude, goes swimming and maybe finds a man to have sex with in the woods. He strikes up a conversation with Henri, an ostensibly straight guy who’s always at the lake too, and while there’s nothing sexual between them, they start an unexpected friendship.
Then Franck sees a hunky man on the beach and immediately decides this is someone to pursue. The guy, Michel (Christophe Paou), seems interested in having sex with Franck (Patrick d’Assumçao), but another man who has some sort of relationship with Michel ensures this doesn’t happen.
Late one evening Franck is coming out of the wood when he sees Michel murder his lover by drowning him. While Franck is shocked, perhaps surprisingly he is still attracted to the man and very quickly they start a passionate affair. However when the police start asking questions, things get tricky and it’s difficult to escape the fact Michel is a very dangerous man.
The entire low-budget film is set in a single location, and that turns out to be one of its greatest strengths. Director Alain Guiraudie sets up the impressive sense of space, so that you know exactly where everything is and what it means. It’s very cleverly done, so if something has moved or a character is missing, it helps tell the story. The camera angles become vital, with different meanings imbued depending on where the camera is and what exactly it’s pointing towards. For example, if we’re looking at Henri and Franck on the shore of the lake, how we react to this depends on whether it’s pointing towards where Henri normally sits, and whether that character is there or not. Some have compared Strange By The Lake to Hitchcock, and while the similarities initially seem rather thin, in its use of space it’s actually remarkably similar.
It’s also a film that’s great at creating tension. Many things happen that aren’t fully explained, and the direction the movie is heading is rarely 100% clear. That, coupled with the innate sense of danger that comes both from the murder and the men creeping about in the woods looking for sex, helps make the whole thing slightly unnerving and when mixed in with its strong erotic charge, it’s a potent concoction. The final 10 minutes are likely to have you right on the edge of your seat, with that feeling staying with you as the credits roll due to the unsettling and open way it ends.
I was initially bothered by one of the things in the movie that isn’t explicitly explained why after Franck sees Michel murder somebody does he not seem more reticent to hook up with him, especially as he’s essentially putting himself in same position as the recently killed man? At first it seemed odd and rather bizarre, especially as the film doesn’t even offer a cod psychology explanation.
However then Stranger By The Lake stars to reveal itself, and you realise we’re in slightly allegorical territory, where Henri represent the side of human need that craves closeness, friendship and companionship. Michel meanwhile is sex in all it primal, animalistic urgency. The need for sex may not always have logic, but it’s powerful and often inescapable. The problem for Franck comes when he tries to marry the two sides, attempting to tame what is unkempt, dangerous and sexual by trying to force it to also fulfil his other, more domestic needs. And it’s notable that he wants to partially domesticate the primal Michel rather than having any thoughts of eroticising Henri.
While you can argue the way the movie differentiates and separates these two sides of human natures is rather extreme, it is recognisable. Many will relate to the feeling when they’ve been in a relationship. Even if a boyfriend/girlfriend offers a lot in the realm of companionship, there can still be part of you that sexually wants new partners and experiences beyond the person you’re with. And it is something that will draw you towards doing things that your brain screams to you isn’t a good idea.
Overall Verdict: Stranger By The Lake is a pretty potent combination smartly filmed with plenty of thought behind it. It’s a story that creates a great sense of tension, and on top of that there’s a sense of unrestrained eroticism that’s difficult to ignore. There has been a lot of talk about the film’s nudity and sex and it doesn’t disappoint even if it’s not the porn-fest some have suggested but it turns out Strange By The Lake is a lot more than that too.
Reviewer: Tim Isaac