On the Fringe of Wild (2021)

The Canadian flick On the Fringe of the Wild (2021) is an early 21st century set LGTBQ spin on the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. Peter (Harrison Browne) is an introverted and sensitive young artist who dreams of leaving his minuscule northern Ontario town to follow his dreams of becoming an artist. However, his alpha male father Nathan (Andrew Bee) is bound and determined to convert his gay son into the straight man's man he had not-so-secretly been hoping he'd eventually become on his own. When Nathan takes his son on a hunting trip to an even more remote part of the Ontario wilderness, Peter revolts and takes off into the woods on his own, determined that dying alone in the woods is better than continuing to have to live with such a hateful father. It is here that he meets Jack (Cameron Stewart), another gay teen boy escaping his similarly toxic family in search of some love and understanding. As these two lost souls hide out in a cabin, they begin to learn that they're not alone in this world and a deep abiding love develops between them. Of course, the threat of the outside world is ever present and they know it will eventually tear them apart, unless they can somehow manage to stay together against the odds. The film is surprisingly chaste and takes a rather tender approach to the love between co-stars Harrison Browne and Cameron Stewart, who have several gay scenes but never take their clothes off. It's probably the bitterly cold Canadian wilderness that's to blame, but we can't help but feel at least slightly cheated!