In the film, Three Months, Troye Sivan stars as an anxious teenager whose future is hanging in limbo while he waits three months for his HIV test results.
Set in 2011, Sivan’s character, Caleb, is a recent high school graduate spending the summer before college working at a convenience store and desperately waiting for the next phase of his life to begin. His future becomes uncertain when a former sexual partner suggest that he get tested for HIV. While he awaits the results, Caleb joins a support group for those who are living with HIV, and befriends a young man named Estha (Viveik Karla) who is playing the waiting game as well. Although both have a support system, they bond over their mutual decision to hide the truths from their families. Caleb fears that the news would derail the plans his grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) and her husband (Louis Gossett Jr.) have to sell their house and enjoy what’s left of their golden years.
His friendship with his best friend, Dara (Brianne Tju), suffers as he embarks on a tentative romance with Estha. Dara is in her own shaky relationship with their boss, played by the criminally underrated Judy Greer. Greer is utilized here as an unhappily married woman trying to recapture her youth and freedom by sleeping with her much younger subordinate. The subplot ends predictably, and honestly, the movie could have done without it.
The film also explores Caleb’s parental dysfunction by giving him a cold and homophobic mother. She abandoned Caleb after he came out of the closet and is now married to a rabbi who also disapproves of Caleb’s lifestyle. In a heartbreaking scene near the film’s conclusion, Caleb reveals to his mother that he’s waiting for his HIV results, and instead of receiving sympathy and comfort, she reacts in disgust and rips his baby brother from his arms. The scene is emotionally devastating, but illustrates the discrimination those living with HIV face.
A bright spot, however, is Caleb’s reverence for HIV educator and reality TV personality, Pedro Zamora. Zamora was best known for being a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. The film pays a nice bit of homage to Zamora’s work as an advocate for those living with HIV, and reinforces the fact that his legacy continues.
Three Months is a coming-of-age film with a lot of heart. It tackles a very serious topic, while also layering in comedy, family drama, and the important message that it’s imperative to let go of the past to fully move into your future. Sivan does a decent job in his first leading role, and the film is sure to be entertaining and educational for all.
Three Months is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
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Writer. Video Essayist. Film/TV Critic. Pop Culture Enthusiast.
When he isn’t writing for Geek Vibes Nation or The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found typing away at one of the novels or screenplays he’s been working on forever.
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