By John Corrado

The feature debut of music video director Luke Gilford, National Anthem is an engaging portrait of outcasts who desperately want their part of the American Dream, but have to carve out their own piece of it.

Entrenched in the world of cowboys and rodeos, Gilford’s film is steeped in Americana, but explored through the perspective of queer characters who might normally get left out of this vision of America.

Dylan (Charlie Plummer) is a 21-year-old working class kid in New Mexico, who often finds himself having to care for his little brother Cassidy (Joey DeLeon) while their mom Fiona (Robyn Lively) is out late drinking.

Desperately trying to save up enough money for an RV that he can take on the road, Dylan takes a job working for Pepe (Rene Rosado), who needs extra men to work on his ranch. It turns out the ranch is a refuge for queer people (they have “one of those flags,” his mom warns him after picking him up from work on the first day), and Dylan finds himself becoming captivated by Sky (Eve Lindley), a young trans woman who brings him out of his shell.

As much as National Anthem feels like a hangout movie at times, with Eve and the gang welcoming Dylan into their fold of going to rodeos and drag shows, the screenplay (co-written by Gilford) also explores the complex relationships that form against the backdrop of this ranch. Gilford’s work is about recontextualizing the Western by mere virtue of who it is focusing on. It’s guided by the compellingly understated work of Plummer, who subtly showcases his character’s own sexual and gender awakening without the film trying to necessarily label or define it.

Gilford’s music video and photography background are felt but certainly don’t detract from this confident feature debut, which is stylish without being flashy. It’s beautifully shot by cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi, capturing both the wide open landscapes and intimate, shadowy character moments, and the film also features some lovely original songs by Perfume Genius. It’s a poignant new take on the all-American Western, that toes the line between feeling traditional and modern.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

National Anthem opens exclusively in theatres in limited release on July 19th, including at TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. It’s being distributed in Canada by Vortex Media.