Lie Down with Me (2022) is a deeply moving French romantic drama about love, memory, and the lingering presence of a past that refuses to fade. Based on the novel by Philippe Besson, the film follows Stéphane Belcourt, a successful novelist who returns to his hometown after decades of absence. Invited to a literary event, he finds himself unexpectedly confronted with the ghosts of his youth when he meets Lucas, the son of Thomas Andrieu, the first and only love of his life.
Stéphane’s return reawakens memories of a teenage romance that marked him forever. Through flashbacks, the film reveals his intense but secret relationship with Thomas, a charismatic and athletic boy who was both his greatest love and his greatest heartbreak. Their passion burned brightly but remained hidden, limited by fear and societal expectations. While Stéphane accepted his feelings, Thomas fought them, choosing a path that led him to repress his true self. Time moved on, and with it their lives: Thomas married a woman, had children, and followed the path expected of him. Stéphane, unable to forget, poured his emotions into writing, using literature as a way to process his lost love. But now, face to face with Lucas, who unknowingly inherits his father’s features and mannerisms, Stéphane is forced to confront the unresolved emotions that have haunted him for years.
As the two men talk, Lucas begins to piece together a different side of his father, one he hadn’t known about. Through their conversations, Stéphane discovers that, despite Thomas’s outward choices, the love they shared may not have been as forgotten as he thought. In Lucas, he sees a younger generation free to love without the same restrictions, a reflection of what he and Thomas were never able to have.
Their reunion becomes a moment of healing and closure. Although Stéphane cannot rewrite the past, he can finally accept it. He leaves his hometown with silent acceptance, carrying the memory of Thomas not as a wound, but as proof that love, however brief or hidden, is real and unforgettable.
