‘Desire Lines’ Review – History And “Trans”parency [Sundance 2024]

Identity is a thing you have to discover, and upon doing so, find the connections to that identity that resonate with you. This can be done through experience or through listening to testimony. That is the thesis of Jules Rosskam’s docu-drama, Desire Lines. A film that blurs the lines between the past, present, and future of the LGBTQ+ community.

When Iranian-American trans man, Ahmad (Aden Hakimi) lands a job at an LGBTQ+ archive, he goes on a dizzying and erotic journey in discovering his own identity. He is met by his younger curator, Kieran (Theo Germaine). The two form a bond as they dig through the archives of LGBTQIA history and try to find a place for it all.

The film goes back and forth between documentary-style interviews and narrative. At times, the transition between the two takes such a long time that you may forget what kind of film you’re watching and which story you should be paying attention to. Because of this, the narrative around Ahmad and Kieran doesn’t get the attention it deserves. 

The film spends the majority of its time interviewing other people who have transitioned and what their experiences have been. However, the film spends an excessive amount of time on each person’s sexual proclivities, along with some graphic retellings of their sexual deeds. While it can be a raw and unflinching look at the sex lives of trans individuals, the amount of time fixated on the topic diminishes its impact and can give a reductive viewpoint of its subjects.

Then there’s the time-traveling aspect. We see Ahmad living through the events he’s researching. This flashback-flash-forward style of storytelling would be incredibly impactful if there were more attention focused on Ahmad and his journey. We never see the character outside of this job. Any information we have about him only comes from the short anecdotes he shares with Kieran, and his sexual desires are masked behind this wall of living through others’ experiences. There’s a particular moment where he’s in the middle of a bathhouse movie theater and begins to have a connection with another person there, but their coupling is interrupted by a raid on the bathhouse and his would-be partner is arrested and insulted as he’s dragged out. This is a particularly haunting moment that occurred often in the bathhouses of the 70s and 80s. However, once that flashback is finished, the only connection it has is to an article about the raid, it is mostly just there to illustrate the differences of the times. It would be more effective if the flashbacks were connected to Ahmad in some way. Otherwise, it diminishes the point of seeing the story through his perspective.

The true heartbeat of the film comes when it centers around author and activist, Lou Sullivan. The film does this by revisiting a series of interviews by Lou, who was one of the few people who pioneered transgenderism in the late 70s/ early 80s. Sullivan details his life and struggles to transition, and then to find the identity that matched his new life. Lou’s story is pretty significant, especially when other interviewees bring him up as an inspiration, but his story comes up so late in the film that it feels like it should be its own story. You’d rather this were a full documentary about Lou and these interviews with Dr. Pauly, or that he was omitted from this film entirely. If this film accomplished anything, it would be highlighting an important figure in LGBTQ+ history who no doubt deserves more time in the spotlight.

It’s safe to say Rosskam had a lot of ideas for this film and decided to put them all together in this one feature because you never know when you’re going to get the chance to make another one. Yet it leaves this film overcrowded and disconnected. You’re free to pick whichever aspect you like best, which for me, would be the performances of Hakimi and Germaine, who are effortless and sincere. The hope is that they are both able to tell genuine, honest stories about trans masculinity and sexuality in the very near future.

Desire Lines had its World Premiere in the NEXT section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Director: Jules Rosskam

Writer: Jules Rosskam

Rated: NR

Runtime: 83m