A Ghost Story About Identity and Legacy

Read Time:4 Minute, 42 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Lavender Men
–

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 39m
Director(s): Lovell Holder
Writer(s): Roger Q. Mason, Lovell Holder
Cast: Roger Q. Mason, Pete Ploszek, Alex Esola, Ted Rooney, Charlie Thurston, Philippe Bowgen, Gillian Williams, Natasha Dewhurst, Mia Ellis, Cherie Corinne Rice, Linnea Liu Dakin
Where to Watch: In select theaters nationwide, May 2, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: Growing up in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln’s legacy has always felt personal—his name adorns everything from schools to highways, and his history is deeply embedded in our local identity. It’s well-documented that Lincoln shared a bed with Joshua Speed for nearly four years while living in Springfield, a common arrangement at the time; however, their deeply affectionate letters have sparked speculation. During the Civil War, Captain David Derickson reportedly also shared Lincoln’s bed on occasion. While there’s no definitive evidence about Lincoln’s sexuality, the emotional intensity of these relationships has prompted ongoing debate. This blurred line between historical fact and personal truth makes LAVENDER MEN’s reimagining of Lincoln feel especially resonant. The possibility of Lincoln being part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community only makes his legend more intriguing.

Set almost entirely within the walls of a modest black box theater, the film follows Taffeta, a stage manager grappling with rejection on both personal and professional fronts. After a painful night, she imagines the spirits of Abraham Lincoln and Elmer E. Ellsworth appearing before her, shaped in the image of her current crushes. This leap doesn't just offer comfort; it serves as a deep meditation on what it means to seek yourself in a past that refused to acknowledge you.

The film’s decision to embrace a theatrical style pays off. There’s an emotional rawness that a more traditionally cinematic presentation might have dulled. The sparseness of the setting sharpens the focus onto the characters and the heavy emotional stakes they carry. Yet the very commitment to this style also exposes certain cracks. Dialogue that should sound lived-in occasionally feels too polished, making the emotional beats feel rehearsed rather than spontaneous.

The final act pulls everything into sharp focus. Here, the emotional threads that had sometimes seemed to drift come together, allowing LAVENDER MEN to close on a powerful note. The minimalism that sometimes felt like a limitation earlier becomes a strength, forcing all attention onto the raw, layered performances. Vulnerability takes center stage without the need for elaborate production tricks.

Roger Q. Mason delivers a performance that captures complexity without ever succumbing to self-pity or overdrawn sentiment. Taffeta's battles—both internal and external—aren't framed as unique to one person, but rather as emblematic of a wider, ongoing struggle for recognition. Mason avoids sentimentality, delivering instead a portrait that’s full of humor, anger, love, and exhaustion. Their presence anchors the film, preventing it from drifting away during its more experimental stretches.

Beyond reclaiming public history, LAVENDER MEN also explores the painful realities within supposedly inclusive spaces. Taffeta's experiences with racism and gender-based exclusion within her community are treated not as side notes but as central to her search for belonging. The film never feels like it’s checking off social issues for the sake of it—it understands that real identity work means confronting uncomfortable truths at every level.

Importantly, there’s no illusion that reclamation of history leads to easy victories. LAVENDER MEN refuses to wrap things up neatly. The film acknowledges that identity, especially when built in the absence of a clear lineage, is messy, inconsistent, and often painful. By framing personal and communal histories as fragments—some salvaged, some reconstructed—it reveals the difficult yet necessary act of piecing together a story when institutions have sought to erase it.

What ultimately makes this work stand out isn't technical perfection but emotional authenticity. It opens a space for conversations about history, community, and belonging without demanding easy answers or tidy resolutions. LAVENDER MEN doesn’t shout; it invites. It doesn’t declare; it asks. And in asking, it leaves a lasting mark.

By the time the story closes, what stays with you isn't the occasional missed note but the bravery of the attempt. In a world that often demands erasure for the sake of comfort, LAVENDER MEN quietly but firmly refuse to be forgotten.

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[photo courtesy of PRIDE FLIX, ENTERTAINMENT SQUAD]

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