Okay, let's talk about the sex scene. This is going to be a quite lengthy post but bear with me. I've been keeping this in for the past 2 days.
1. In the beginning of the Paris hotel scene, Henry did say that they should make love. Keyword: "make love". There's a difference between fucking and making love.
2. Alex was a bit nervous because it was his first time to do this. In the book, they just do blowjobs during their first few encounters and it's also the same in the movie. Alex hasn't tried any sex with penetration, especially with a man. But Henry was so understanding, he guided Alex physically and emotionally how to exactly make love.
3. The sigh that Henry let out after guiding Alex with his hand to push down deeper... that was so fucking cinematic and perfect! He literally was teaching Alex to learn his body, when to move, and what pleasures him. Also, that little nod he did once Alex was inside him, that's consent!
4. Matthew Lopez (director) and Robbie Taylor Hunt (intimacy coordinator) did a great job in showing Alex and Henry's vulnerability. They focused more on their emotions instead of using a wide shot from one side. Mind you, this is not porn. This is a romance film! If you want to see two hot men fuck, then I suggest you fire up your incognito browser and load those porn vids. Again, go back to my point on #1 just in case you're forgetting something.
5. The point of the sex scene is to show the building mutual trust and affection between Henry and Alex. I can't emphasize this enough that we don't get a lot of queer media with this kind of intimate scene. Most (not all) of queer sex scenes (that I have seen) are always heated and rushed. I don't mind those actually but if you're gonna let me choose which one I'd prefer, I'd choose this one.
6. Taylor and Nick did a great job in portraying the blooming love between A&H. The early stages of love is always delicate. So it's given that they'd be more gentle towards each other.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Now stream the movie again on Prime Video!
Sometimes, I think about every detail of this 39 seconds for 39 minutes. And then watch it and do it all over again. The way Alex sounds when he says, "Baby", the way Henry stutters out his surprise/relieved "Alex", how Henry's face goes through so many expressions from the moment he takes that phone to the moment he settles in Alex’s arms. I am so amazed at how much of their relationship was coveyed in this 39 seconds of screen time. Countless chapters of them being so strongly in love were somehow beautifully expressed in these short moments. I love them. I love Red, White & Royal Blue and I feel like I can never get enough of it. I will always feel more each time I read or watch it. I will notice things differently and deeper. I'm so glad that Henry and Alex had someone to open their arms and run to, that of all the people on the planet, they got to meet and be the love of one another’s lives.
Sometimes I'm amazed that this exists. And grateful Matthew waited until he found the right Alex in Taylor, for Nick's Henry, because I cannot imagine we would have anything close to this without them.
You know what I love about the casting? Is that they found a very very hot guy to play Alex (I've had a crush on TZP since Kissing booth days). Because like objectively us book readers we knew Alex is handsome and charming because his inflated ego kept describing how popular he is and all. And Henry too said and wrote about it constantly.
But since we were reading Alex's POV, we didnt really spend that much time imagining how Alex looks like or why Henry took one look at him in Rio and fell in love instantly and also had a massive Gay panic. For the entirety of the book we fell in love with Henry as Alex fell in love with him and we were well aware how handsome Henry is.
Then comes the movie and we get Taylor as Alex and from the first clip all of us collectively went 'Oh Henry we get you'.
So Henry and Alex are both canonically insomniacs, right? They both have a hard time sleeping, that is, until they start cuddling each other each night and they finally starting sleeping through till morning, comfortable and safe in each other
This post isn't supposed to be me talking about the significance of Henry seeing those family photos, or baby pictures of Alex, or talk about what Alex is doing and how he's looking at Henry.
It's all about that touch right there at the end of this scene. I love this touch because its intention is pure connection. It's a simple hand on the shoulder, a familiar and grounding touch. We don't get to see too many moments of touching between Henry and Alex that don't have a complicated or deep significance behind them. This is one of those, 'every day' touch moments. The kind you do without thinking much about it, because it's so natural to reach out and connect yourself to the person you love.