Roberto has the life people envy – a smart girlfriend, a nice apartment, a stable future. Then Cris shows up and suddenly “straight” stops being a label and turns into a hiding place. Straight is a messy, funny, quietly brutal story about wanting everything and realizing you might lose everyone.
Straight (2023) – A Love Triangle Where Nobody Ordered the Triangle
Let me tell you about Straight, a film that starts like a calm Sunday afternoon and ends up feeling like you accidentally opened 17 tabs in your brain and none of them will close.
Our main guy is Roberto. He is in his 30s, works for a bank, lives in a nice apartment, drinks decent booze, and has the kind of “I’m fine, everything is fine” face that basically screams: sir, you are not fine. He’s been with Elia for years. Elia is a genetics PhD warrior, the kind of person who can casually say “DNA methylation” while you are still trying to remember if you left your keys in the fridge.
On paper, they are a good couple. In real life, they are that couple where one person keeps asking, “So, are we ever going to live together?” and the other person replies with the emotional equivalent of buffering.
Roberto’s Two Lives, One Nervous System
Here’s the twist that the film does not treat like a twist, because it’s not trying to be clever. Roberto sleeps with men. Not in a “secret gay romance, destiny, violins” way. More like a messy, complicated, human way. And this is where Cris walks in.
Cris is younger, Argentine, studying history, and has that “I’m funny but also I will ruin your emotional stability” charm. He meets Roberto through a hookup situation that begins awkward, then becomes a pattern. And like all patterns, it eventually becomes a problem.
Their dynamic is half flirting, half therapy session, half football on TV. Yes, that’s three halves. Welcome to the math of feelings.
Elia, the Human Heart, and a Lab Full of Rats
Elia is not a caricature. She’s not “the girlfriend obstacle.” She’s smart, stressed, loving, and honestly kind of hilarious. She jokes, she nags, she cares, she tries to build a life. She’s also carrying the weight of a brutal academic environment, plus the casual misogyny that shows up everywhere like an unpaid extra.
And still, she keeps choosing Roberto. She keeps hoping he will meet her halfway. She keeps asking the question that should not be a crime: “Are we going to build something real?”
Roberto’s answer is always some version of: “Sure, but later, because work, because timing, because… look, the Patriots are losing.”
Cris Wants the Future, Roberto Wants the Exit Button
As Roberto keeps seeing Cris, the relationship stops being “just sex.” Cris starts wanting clarity. Not a wedding ring. Not a label printed in bold font. Just honesty, and a little space in Roberto’s life that isn’t hidden behind closed doors and silent mornings.
And that’s where the film gets painfully real: Cris is not just horny, he’s in love. He’s also young enough to still believe love should actually do something. Roberto, meanwhile, is old enough (emotionally, at least) to believe love is something you keep in a drawer until the guests leave.
They fight. They make up. They act like everything is casual, then talk at 3 a.m. like it’s the end of the world. They’re drawn to each other in that addictive way where you know it’s bad for you, but you keep reaching for it anyway.
The Most Awkward Breakfast You’ll Ever Watch
At one point, Elia ends up meeting Cris in Roberto’s apartment, and the movie turns into a masterclass in polite torture.
They sit there. They talk. They try to be normal. Elia is friendly, curious, basically being herself. Cris is trying to act like a harmless new buddy. Roberto is doing that thing where your body is present but your soul has already evacuated the building.
It’s the kind of scene where you want to scream, “Somebody say the truth!” but nobody does, because the truth is loud and adults are cowards.
The Title “Straight” Is Not a Joke, It’s a Defense Mechanism
The most interesting thing in this film is not the love triangle. It’s Roberto’s obsession with not being gay. He doesn’t want that identity. He doesn’t want the social consequences, the explanations, the labels, the “coming out” narrative everyone expects. He wants to keep his comfortable life with Elia and still have this intense connection with Cris.
And the film doesn’t lecture you about it. It just shows what happens when you try to live in the safe zone forever.
Because you can call yourself “straight” a thousand times, but your actions keep talking. And eventually they start shouting.
When You Don’t Know What to Do, Some People Propose
Here comes the part where I wanted to throw my popcorn at the wall.
Elia pushes again for commitment, for moving in together, for building something. Roberto panics, spirals, and instead of being honest, he chooses the nuclear option of emotional avoidance: he proposes.
It’s not romantic. It’s not “true love wins.” It’s the panic-buy of relationships. Like when you’re stressed and you order a thousand things online, hoping a new toaster will fix your soul.
And the film lets you feel the weight of that decision, because you know what’s underneath it. This is not clarity. This is fear wearing a suit.
So What Kind of Film Is This, Really?
Straight is not a neat story about identity. It’s a messy story about people. About how we want love, but we also want safety. About how we want desire, but we also want approval. About how sometimes we hurt people not because we’re evil, but because we’re terrified of being seen.
Roberto isn’t a villain, but he is selfish. Elia isn’t naive, but she’s hopeful. Cris isn’t just the “young temptation,” he’s a person who wants a future and keeps getting handed silence.
And that’s why the film works. It doesn’t give you a clean moral. It gives you that uncomfortable truth: if you refuse to choose, you still choose. You just choose in a way that breaks everyone slowly.
The Orvel Verdict
This is the kind of film that makes you laugh in the moment and then, two hours later, you’re staring at your ceiling like, “Wait… was I Roberto at some point?”
It’s sharp, intimate, and emotionally honest. Not always lovable, but always human. And if you’ve ever been stuck between what you want and what you’re “supposed” to want, this one hits close. Maybe too close.
Watch it if you like relationship dramas that feel real, with dialogue that sounds like people actually talk.
