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Can i pray with you?:

Pray away ​movie review
​
​by carson timar


(tribeca 2021)

​
Picture


Pray Away (2021)

          Ahead of its release on Netflix later this summer, Kristine Stolakis's debut feature documentary Pray Away which is screening as part of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival shines a light on the religious-based pray the gay away movement by collecting perspectives both of those currently and previously involved in the movement to find both its draw and damage. Confidently and elegantly, Pray Away immediately becomes one of the most important and well-crafted queer texts of the year both diving into these past and present attacks on the ever-vulnerable LGBTQ+ community and highlighting just how haunting this movement has been.

As is the case with most great documentaries containing a clear political message, Pray Away is built on a foundation dedicated to understanding and empathy. At its core, the pray away the gay movement is built on the shoulders of LGBTQ+ individuals so blinded by self-hatred and a desire for change because of it that they face a personal forced act of diastrophism in which self-destruction can occur. Pray Away understands this and rather simply blaming these individuals with a venomous tongue, seeks to find the humanity and pain within them. The film smartly structures itself to promote this while also being careful to maintain the attention and engagement of the audience. Starting with a raw showcase of the modern pray away the gay movement will undeniably evoke an emotion in the audience and pull audience members into the story.

The film then transitions into gaining the perspective of those once involved in the movement explaining both the history and mindset of this movement and those involved causing the audience to understand both the objective and subjective sides of the topic. Then rounding back to the modern-day figures involved in the movement, the film allows the audience to reapproach these individuals with that newly found perspective. This is an incredibly effective and well-thought-out strategy of storytelling signaling a strong level of talent both from Kristine Stolakis as a director and Carla Gutierrez as an editor.

The film not only leaves an impact because of this craft but also because of the quality of its content. The conservative opposition of the LGBTQ+ community is one that every member of said community understands and has to combat within their basic existence. Films such as Pray Away offer a rare yet incredibly important dialogue between these horrific views and the LGBTQ+ community allowing an understanding which is needed for progress. Without justifying the cause, Pray Away offers a look at the humanistic logic and ideas behind these attacks which allows for their root causes to be identified. It is with this information and understanding that a path forward can be found and forged leading to progress and development rather than a screaming match. 

It is important however to note that even with this sense of understanding within the film, in no way does the film attempt to negate the damage this movement has caused. The hatred and judgment this movement causes both internally and externally are at the soul of the feature and its overall thesis. It is a self-destructive black hole of negativity that the film analyzes without minimizing. This again speaks to the quality of the filmmakers behind the project who easily could have found themselves overwhelmed by the topic they were tackling and when done badly, this topic opens the door for problematic and offensive displays of voices and opinions.

Where there might not be anything within Pray Away to truly feel groundbreaking, the film is an undeniable success and is one of the first major must-watch queer texts of 2021. Honest, brutal, empathetic, and tragic; the film does its subject justice and creates a satisfying final product that immediately declares Kristine Stolakis a force to be reckoned with in the documentary genre

Overall Grade-A

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