The actor Paul Mescal has hit out at critics who have drawn comparisons between The History of Sound, a gay romance in which he stars opposite Josh O’Connor, and Ang Lee’s landmark western Brokeback Mountain.
“I personally don’t see the parallels at all with Brokeback Mountain, other than we spent a little time in a tent,” he said.
“It sounds kind of coy but Josh is just incredibly silly to me,” said Mescal.
O’Connor will also be seen in another film premiering on Friday at the festival, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind.
Later this year Mescal will star as William Shakespeare opposite Jesse Buckley in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet.
Paul Mescal, who plays Josh O’Connor in the gay romance The History of Sound, has taken aim at critics who have likened it to Ang Lee’s seminal western Brokeback Mountain.
The day after the film’s release, Mescal, who played the lead in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II after having a supporting role in Andrew Haigh’s critically acclaimed gay ghost story All of Us Strangers, stated at a press conference in Cannes that he thinks the movie is “moving away” from alpha male roles.
Oliver Hermanus, whose Kurosawa remake Living was nominated for an Oscar three years ago for Bill Nighy, directed The History of Sound, in which Mescal and O’Connor play musicologists who go to New England shortly after World War I to document the folk songs of their rural compatriots.
“It’s constantly changing,” Mescal remarked. Perhaps we’re moving away from the stereotypical, alpha, leading male characters in movies. The movie, in my opinion, is being highly subjective about the relationship between [their characters], Lionel and David, rather than defining or trying to redefine masculinity. “.”.
When asked if he was happy with reviews that compared it to Brokeback Mountain, which stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as ranchers who fall in love in 1950s Wyoming, Mescal said that he wasn’t.
“Aside from the fact that we briefly stayed in a tent, I don’t see any similarities between Brokeback Mountain and that,” he stated.
Mescal went on to say that Lee’s drama, which controversially lost out on a best picture Oscar to Crash in 2005, is “a beautiful film but it is dealing with the idea of repression … I find those comparisons relatively lazy and frustrating, but for the most part I think the relationship I have to the film is born out of the fact that it’s a celebration between these men’s love and not the repression of their sexuality.”. “.”.
After that, Mescal praised his absent co-star O’Connor, who gained notoriety for his role in Francis Lee’s queer drama God’s Own Country and is currently wrapping up work on Steven Spielberg’s upcoming movie, describing him as “one of the easiest persons” to get along with.
“What a wonderful gift Josh has,” he said. “I believe it’s really challenging for an actor in this day and age to portray a character that is so similar to the one that the general public sees.
“The foundation of safety and play was there because we’ve known each other for about five years and were friendly, but during the three or four weeks we were filming, our relationship really took off.”. “.”.
According to the actor, their mutual fondness for the hard candy Jolly Ranchers strengthened their relationship even more.
“Josh is just really dumb to me,” Mescal said, sounding a little sly. There is a microcosm of our relationship in which I think of Josh and I think of Jolly Ranchers. During the filming process, we became obsessed with this diet drink, but we also became obsessed with eating eight Jolly Ranchers every day. “.”.
Sentimental Value, the film that would be screened later that evening, received a more enthusiastic reception than The History of Sound, which was warmly received at its Cannes premiere on Wednesday.
O’Connor will also appear in Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, another movie that opens at the festival on Friday. Mescal will play William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet later this year, opposite Jesse Buckley.
