One of my favorite things is when a film seemingly comes out of nowhere and leaves me utterly speechless. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s a wonderful, unexpected feeling that reminds me why I love movies so much to begin with. All too not-so-often, a movie can bring to mind all kinds of emotions that live in the back of your head, but need to be felt. And photographer Luke Gilford’s debut feature National Anthem absolutely took my breath away. It is a haunting, emotionally visceral experience that took me by surprise in a number of ways.

Dylan (Charlie Plummer), a soft spoken 21-year old construction worker in rural New Mexico, supports his mother (Robyn Lively) and his younger brother. He wants to save enough money to buy an RV and travel the country. He takes a job working at the House of Splendor, a queer rodeo where he starts to fall for Sky (Eve Lindley), a trans woman who lives and works on this ranch. The more time Dylan spends with Sky and her friends and chosen family, the more he starts to discover he may be finding the place where he truly belongs.

Charlie Plummer is an actor I’ve paid attention to since seeing him in Andrew Haigh’s devastating 2017 drama Lean on Pete, and he’s an actor that has made a strong impression in every project I’ve seen him in since. Words on Bathroom Walls, Spontaneous, Wildflower, these are all films you should know and should have seen. He is one of our best young actors working today. There is an emotional specificity to all of his performances and there is such compassion and heart to the work he does. He’s such an exciting performer to watch, and I hope he someday gets to a place where there’s a role that skyrockets him to some kind of undeniable movie star status, because he has put in the work and he absolutely deserves his moment.

Plummer’s chemistry with Eve Lindley is palpable and electric from the very beginning. Lindley has a number of credits, but this is the first time I remember seeing her in a role this strong. And there’s an element of mystery to her character in the beginning, and the chemistry between her and Plummer is so strong, you find yourself rooting for them from the minute we get going. It’s clear in the narrative how both of them are kind of finding different parts of themselves in this relationship, and both characters are so vividly drawn and so beautifully performed. This is one of the most breathlessly romantic films I have seen in some time. We also have some very good work from Mason Alexander Park and Robyn Lively in supporting roles.

As a coming of age story and as a story about the discovery of queer identity, Luke Gilford’s script co-written with Kevin Best and David Largman Murray, avoids so many of the tropes we associate with films like this. So many coming-of-age stories have a number of beats we expect to see, and queer coming of age stories are so often obsessed with trauma, and the terror someone feels when they’re coming into their own skin and afraid of who they might be, and these are all tropes National Anthem has no interest in exploring. This is a story about the necessity of human connection, and what it means to truly find where you belong, and these are themes that can hit hard emotionally for just about any viewer.

The film sure looks spectacular as well. The choice to film on 35mm and not digital film stock is felt as a conscious choice throughout, and adds some graininess and rough edges to the look of the film that absolutely add to the very specific mood being established here. The attention to detail paid in the specific nature of this community depicted in the film add so much to what’s going on here. There is a generosity to these characters and an appreciation for them. And even in a time in this country where queer individuals, especially trans individuals, are being vilified in political circles and in the media, a film this overflowing with love and compassion feels like a healing experience in the most profound way.

So, yeah, this one’s a winner. National Anthem puts first time feature filmmaker Luke Gilford firmly on the map of filmmakers to watch, and more strongly solidifies Charlie Plummer’s place as one of the most exciting young actors working today. This is a passionately progressive, emotionally intelligent, deeply felt story that is so beautifully performed. Again, it’s a testament to going into a really great movie with almost no expectations. This one had me under its spell early on and kept me there. I did not expect the intense emotional reaction I had to National Anthem, but I left this film so thankful for it. This isn’t getting the widest theatrical release right now, and that is such a shame. It will work fine at home, but if you can see National Anthem projected on a giant screen, you absolutely should. This is bound to make my top ten list at the end of the year.