Rating: NR | Runtime: 96 minutes
Release Date: March 24th, 2023 (Canada) / May 5th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Mongrel Media / Good Deed Entertainment
Director(s): Sarah Watts & Mark Slutsky
Writer(s): Sarah Watts & Mark Slutsky

I wish you were my first kiss.

Why live your entire life under a promise of paradise when you can live in one now? It’s the question that always sticks out for me regarding the topic of religion. I’m not talking about morality either. You can be moral and happy. Not living for some wish of eternal life doesn’t mean you become a murderer—no matter what those in power within every respective religion might say to the contrary.

I’m talking about living with hate in your heart because of the rigidity of words in a book or, worse yet, malicious interpretations of those words. Because that and ignorance ultimately drive the insular natures of these organizations. To say that God loves all His children in one breath while excommunicating someone who has pure faith because of their sexual orientation in the next. The hypocrisy is so profound that none of them can breathe without suffering. They make their pain “a test” so they don’t ever look close enough to realize it’s a lie.

While those thoughts came to me as a result of watching Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky’s You Can Live Forever, they do not mean the film shares the same sentiment. This isn’t some diatribe against Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s merely a complex look at the duality of faith and identity. Because if Marike (June Laporte) was given the opportunity to stay in the church and be a lesbian, she would.

That’s how strong her belief in Jehovah is. Baptism is literally depicted as her kink here. She’ll follow his teachings. She’ll fulfill her father’s chores. And she’ll pretend that her mother—disfellowshipped and forbidden from speaking to anyone from the congregation—is dead. That’s how earnestly serious the religion is treated in Marike’s mind because it’s the very essence of life for those entrenched in its world. As a lesbian raised within it herself, however, Watts must also show that it always comes down to choice rather than compromise. Loving Jehovah and a woman wasn’t allowed for her. Faith is conditional.

That’s why this story focuses on Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll) instead. If Marike was the subject, the script would be forced to take a more hardlined stance one way or the other. By turning our sight to Jaime, we can view the struggle from the outside. We can appreciate the anguish and accept a bit more ambiguity when it comes to a conclusion that has the potential of undoing the confused actions of a teenager imprisoned by her own devotion.

Because Jaime isn’t a believer. She’s merely a niece sent off to live with her aunt (Liane Balaban’s Beth) and uncle (Antoine Yared’s JF) who are believers while her mother grieves the loss of her father. This is supposed to simply be a few months away in a boring town with nights spent listening to boring sermons. Beth has no intention of converting her and Jaime has no intention of staying. A blossoming, forbidden romance with Marike couldn’t have been anticipated.

Watts and Slutsky do a very good job balancing their themes since this isn’t your usual coming-of-age film. They must treat the Jehovah community, homosexuality, and Marike’s tug-of-war to find a way through both with equal respect. Sure, they poke fun at the former with Jaime’s new outsider friend Nathan (Hasani Freeman), but it’s never mean-spirited.

And, yes, they don’t shy away from showing how intolerant the Jehovah’s Witnesses are towards homosexuality, but do sprinkle in some welcome nuance insofar as not making it fully black and white for everyone. There’s a wonderful exchange towards the end where Beth talks about how kids Jaime’s age can “get confused” that intentionally speaks on multiple levels since she isn’t as inflexible as Marike’s family. These girls are therefore able to live in the gray areas of their lives even if external forces are pulling them apart. Choices must be made, but they can also be reversed.

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June Laporte and Anwen O’Driscoll in YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER; courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment.