Movie
Departures
Tropes in this movie
Be Yourself
mediumBenji's queer adolescence without role models is explicitly shown to have produced insecurities and negative self-image — a suppressed or underdeveloped authentic identity under social pressure. The film's three-timeframe structure traces a painful arc from that formative suppression, through a series of relationships that reflect poor self-worth, to a final 'almost-happy ending' framed as Benji learning what he deserves — functioning as a bittersweet but legible moment of self-acceptance. Two signals are met: conformity/lack of authentic queer identity is shown as damaging, and the resolution is oriented around reclaiming self-worth rather than romantic fulfilment.
About this trope: A character hides or suppresses their true identity to conform, then finds strength and happiness by embracing who they really are. Authenticity is the real superpower.
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Full plot (spoilers)
Departures is a non-linear British queer drama told largely in retrospect from the perspective of Benji, a financially struggling gay man who lives with his mother. The story begins when Benji and Jake — a successful personal trainer who works with professional footballers in England's North West — meet at an airport departures gate after their flight is cancelled. Despite coming from very different economic circumstances, they feel an immediate, intense connection. Rather than pursuing anything in their everyday lives, they establish an arrangement: their relationship exists only in Amsterdam, where they take monthly trips together. Jake pays for everything and controls virtually all decisions about what they do, their encounters being almost exclusively sexual. Jake admits attraction to men but refuses to label himself or commit to a relationship, while Benji grows progressively more emotionally invested. The power imbalance is stark — Jake is charismatic and emotionally guarded; Benji is softer, more vulnerable, and increasingly dependent on their connection. When the relationship eventually ends, Benji unravels into self-destructive behaviour. The film's structure jumps between three timeframes: the aftermath of their split, the origins and arc of the Amsterdam relationship, and flashbacks to Benji's adolescence, exploring how growing up queer without a role model shaped his insecurities and negative self-image. The narrative also revisits Benji's prior relationships, building a portrait of a man learning — painfully — what he deserves. Co-director Lloyd Eyre-Morgan plays Benji. The film blends Benji's self-aware, comedic narration with darker emotional material, and incorporates whimsical visual flourishes (animated doodles, hearts, strobe-lit dance sequences) to offset its melancholy. It concludes with a tone described as a funny, sad, ironic almost-happy ending rather than a conventional romantic resolution.
Sources: TMDb overview, The Conversation review, Film Threat review, aggregated search results (Movie Insider, Rotten Tomatoes listings, High On Films, Eye for Film, Flickering Myth)