Given the portentous way that teenager Aristotle Mendoza (Max Pelayo) talks during the opening voiceover, it would make sense to expect Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe to be a stark, grim account of life for a closeted gay teenager in 1987 El Paso, Texas. The movie based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz's popular 2012 young adult novel has its share of dark moments, but overall it's much sweeter and more hopeful than that downbeat introduction would suggest.
Immediately after that initial expression of despair, Aristotle, who goes by Ari, has his first encounter with Dante Quintana (Reese Gonzales), a fellow Mexican-American teen who doesn't quite fit in. The taciturn, brooding Ari generally keeps to himself, but Dante breaks through that gruff exterior, first by offering to teach Ari to swim and later by inviting Ari into his home, declaring their friendship before Ari could even think to object.
There's clearly something more than friendship going on between the two, at least on Dante's part, and Pelayo and Gonzales have natural chemistry that makes even small, brief gestures of affection feel more meaningful. Sexuality isn't the only aspect of identity that the characters struggle with, and writer-director Aitch Alberto sensitively engages with all of Ari's and Dante's internal turmoil. Although the teens share Mexican heritage, Dante comes from a more affluent family and feels disconnected from his roots, while Ari resents his parents' reluctance to open up, especially about his imprisoned older brother.
The bond between Ari and Dante helps them process all of these feelings, which is why it's disappointing when Dante essentially disappears for the entire middle of the movie, as his family temporarily moves to Chicago for his dad's job. Dante and Ari continue their connection via written letters, with voiceover narration from Gonzales, but a device that might succeed in a novel proves limiting on screen, depriving the audience of the interaction between the main characters.
Still, those letters strengthen the emotional ties between Ari and Dante, and they allow Dante a safe space to admit his true feelings toward his friend. The movie's tone turns heavier once Dante returns to El Paso, and the characters come up against some harsh truths about life for gay people in 1987. Alberto includes some news footage related to the AIDS epidemic, but Aristotle and Dante isn't a history lesson or a lecture about social issues. It's primarily a romance, even as the characters face obstacles that other love-struck teens of the same time and place wouldn't have to worry about.
Sáenz and Alberto allow for plenty of joy amid the difficulties, and Ari and Dante are luckier than many young people in similar positions, with parents who offer them unconditional love. Alberto recruits famous faces Eugenio Derbez and Eva Longoria to bolster the supporting cast as Ari's dad and Dante's mom, although they never overshadow the central duo. Comedic actor Derbez seems slightly miscast as Ari's stoic, stern father, whose arc of acceptance doesn't quite land. Mostly, though, the adult actors simply provide quiet support, just as their characters do.
Alberto provides the same kind of support, with an understated visual style that only hints at the grandiosity of the title in the final few shots. There are a few clumsy instances of overdubbing that probably exist to bring the rating down to PG-13, but overall Aristotle and Dante is remarkably clear-eyed and honest. Sometimes it seems a little too subdued, and the romance could stand to be a little swoonier, to match up to its mainstream YA counterparts. Ari and Dante obviously deserve everything their genre has to offer. ♦
ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE
