Being born with synesthesia (the ability to see music as colours) and possessing perfect pitch, Lionel (Leo Cocovinis/Paul Mescal/Chris Cooper) is destined for a life in music. Those abilities also give him the opportunity to leave the tiny house he has spent his entire life in. One that is located in a small rural town in Kentucky.
He starts his musical journey by enrolling at The Boston Conservatory after being recommended by a local music teacher. Once there, he meets David (Josh O’Connor). They bond over a shared love of indigenous folk music and soon develop a physical relationship. It is one of discovery.
This is soon interrupted by David’s enlistment in the army and then departing to fight in the trenches in World War I. When David returns, he and Lionel reconnect and end up travelling around rural areas in the South documenting the local music by recording it on one of Thomas Edison’s early phonographs. They remain close, but the war has changed David, and they soon drift apart.
The rest of the film follows the intricacies of Lionel’s life journey. We come to learn he is a bit of a narcissist and makes selfish life decisions, easily discarding romantic partners, both male and female. It also speaks of the power of a good story that we are kept enthralled by Lionel’s life, even with all of his less-than-stellar actions.
Rob Hudson
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