Paul Mescal has criticised comparisons between his new gay drama The History of Sound and Brokeback Mountain, calling them “lazy and frustrating.”
Speaking at a press conference for the upcoming film at Cannes, Mescal dismissed the parallels, saying the only real similarity is that he and co-star Josh O’Connor “spent a little bit of time in a tent”.
“When I look at Brokeback Mountain, it’s dealing with repression. This film is pointed in the opposite direction. To be honest, I find those comparisons lazy and frustrating,” said Mescal.
“But for the most part, I think the relationship I have to the film is born out of the fact that it’s a celebration between these men’s love and not the repression of their sexuality.”
Oliver Hermanus, the director of The History of Sound, said Ang Lee’s groundbreaking drama wasn’t “in our heads” and that the comparisons show “there should be more forms about these nuances of queer relationships, beyond the context most movies deal with”.
“I felt that the idea of History of Sound, it wasn’t about the complications of their sexuality that wasn’t the problem between them,” he continued, “rather what was going to keep them apart is that they would have other loves in their life.”
Mescal also reflected on the “ever-shifting” portrayal of masculinity in film, noting that cinema is “moving away from the traditional, alpha, leading male characters.”
Paul Mescal finds comparisons between his new film with Josh O’Connor ‘The History Of Sound’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ “lazy and frustrating” #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/TJ0wYhSxXR
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He added: “I don’t think the film is defining or attempting to redefine masculinity. I think it’s simply being very subjective to the relationship between [their characters] Lionel and David.”
The History of Sound is based on the Pushcart Prize-winning novel from Ben Shattuck, a collection of 12 short stories that are set across three centuries and explores generational patterns of love and loss.
The title story follows two young men in the shadows of WWI who are determined to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen. Lionel (Mescal) and David (O’Connor) begin to log the events, whilst falling in love in the process.
It also stars Chris Cooper (Little Women), Molly Price (Third Watch), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon a Time), Hadley Robinson (Moxie), Emma Canning (Dune: Prophecy), Brianna Middleton (The Inheritance) and Gary Raymond (The Cedar Tree).
When asked at Cannes whether the film had changed his perspective on love, Mescal shared that he was 24 when he first read the script, and isn’t sure he “would have been able to play the role the same way” back then.
“Love is a very complicated — what’s the thing, Andrew Scott’s speech in Fleabag about love at the end at the wedding. That’s what I think about,” Mescal said.
“It’s a very hard thing to pin down. What I found so moving about the screenplay is that it’s never really described in words, it’s described in actions and things you don’t see. That’s something I’ve learned in my own life, kindness is wildly underrated in romantic relationships and should be celebrated.”
Best known for his roles in Normal People (2020), Aftersun (2022), and Gladiator II (2024), Mescal memorably portrayed a queer character in All of Us Strangers (2023), a film that received universal critical acclaim and has since been hailed as one of the greatest LGBTQIA+ films of all time.
O’Connor is also well known to queer audiences for his acclaimed performance as a closeted sheep farmer in God’s Own Country (2017). More recently, he appeared in Luca Guadagnino’s queer-coded sports drama Challengers (2024).
Following its Cannes premiere, The History of Sound received positive reviews from critics and currently holds a 75% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A theatrical release date has yet to be announced.
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