Review: 'You Can Live Forever' Juggles Faith and Love

Filmmakers Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts deliver a poised, and poignant, love story between two teenage girls in "You Can Live Forever."

Jamie (Anwen O'Driscoll) comes to stay with her Aunt Beth (Liane Balaban) and Uncle Jean-Francois (Antoine Yared) following the death of her father. Beth and JF are Jehovah's Witnesses; they are loving, but also insistent that while she's staying with them Jamie observe the rituals and requirements of their faith, which means Jamie has to put on a dress that looks like it came from the costuming department of "Little House on the Prairie" and attend religious services, called meetings, with them.

It's at one meeting that Jamie meets Marika (June Laporte). The attraction is instant, intense, and mutual. As the two start to talk, they realize they have things in common, including the loss of a parent; Marika's mother left the faith when she was very young, and has been shunned and thought of as dead ever since.

Little by little, Jamie becomes more deeply involved with the religious community. She never comes to believe in the tenets of the faith, though, which includes a conviction that a "new system" will replace the old way of doing things after an apocalyptic collapse and what sounds like a global war. And who knows? They might be on to something: At this point, apocalyptic collapse and/or global war doesn't seem so far-fetched, even if the "new system" that would follow doesn't seem very likely to be a utopia.

But the faithful believe that it's going to be Heaven on Earth. Indeed, it's that conviction that allows Marika to enjoy her growing closeness to Jamie, which includes kissing (and possibly more, in a movie theater restroom) without seeming to find it paradoxical to her faith. In the new system, Marika seems to think dogmatic ideas about love and sex won't be quite so rigid; in any case, the paradise Marika yearns for can only come to pass if Jamie stays in town (and in the church), and that's what she's hoping Jamie will choose to do. Jamie, on the other hand, would prefer that Marika leave her home, faith, and family in order to be with her in the more "worldly" secular realm.

Counterbalancing Jamie's new life in the religious community is her friendship with Nate (Hasani Freeman), a classmate with whom she likes to smoke and play video games. Nate is straight, and, this being an LGBTQ+ movie, queer version of a gay best friend: Understanding, supportive, non-demanding, and not someone the main character is likely to get romantically involved with (he seems disappointed when he realizes Jamie is a lesbian, but that doesn't change their bond). His presence is a reminder of what most people would consider to be normalcy, but he could have been a larger part of the film – more of a sounding board for the sexual, secular, and religious themes that swirl throughout.

The film treats the religious community with respect; they don't freak out over the things you might expect. Science homework, a T-shirt with the name of a rock band emblazoned on it, Hollywood movies, or even talk of European travels are all accepted without a second thought. That said, one extremely common and harmless tradition has both Marika's and Jamie's families in a tizzy – you'll know the moment when it comes.

Poised and poignant, "You Can Live Forever" treads a few fine lines, and keeps its balance, feeling fair and grounded... up, that is, until an ending that's engineered to be upbeat and hopeful, but rings hollow. But, what the heck... don't we all want to believe a better life awaits after the credits roll?

"You Can Live Forever" plays in select theaters and on demand starting May 5.