A beautifully made film. The way the movie flowed like quicksilver between the prison and the past was unbelievable. It was also great how the male actors, a la mode Shakespeare, played all the female roles. What was so good about that was that they didn't do so as hyper-female drag queens but simply as actors. after a while the viewer forgets that sex of the actors and focuses on the characters. I was surprised that this illusion held up despite several removals from the narrative when we are transported back to the present and the prison chapel and we see the actors as they really are. somehow the film keeps us from being jarred out of the movie and we once again are transported back to 1912. a profoundly moving story.

I am writing mainly because the one comment I saw on this site was negative. I just watched the movie and it was gorgeous. Gorgeous scenery. Gorgeous men. Wonderful music. Jason Cadieux is gorgeous beyond words.The movie is quite obviously set in a prison where there would be a lack of women. It is quite artistic. The use of men to play women is both campy, and artsy, hearkening back to Shakespeare. It is not done to get laughs however.The twist in the movie is that the man who is to give his confession, hears a confession. It ends in a way that you must make up your mind about the punishment.

The worst thing about this film was the marketing and distribution, which let this gem fall off the radar before anyone knew it was out. Here was finally a film that had depth, imagination and innovative story-telling instead of scantily-clad bucks mincing muscle with bad acting. Few films from the gay community have found this level of quality in production values as well as story. True, there were some flaws in the make-up that I won't mention in the interest of not spoiling the film. But if you have not seen this film, rent it and let your imagination be rewarded.

I have seen Lilies on more than one occasion, and am amazed each time at the intricate and ingenious use of the "theatrical" in the movie. When watching the movie from the beginning, it doesn't take a moron to realize that the "play" is being put on by inmates at a prison.Staying true to the "setting" of the play, the movie uses males to play all roles, including the roles of women. It is unique as the characters in the "play" react and respond to the female roles as if they were women and not men playing women's roles.There is an incredible depth to the movie that chronicles the life and love lost by Simone through the deception and lies of the "church." There is much more meaning here than just the plight of one man. The movie tell the story of many men and women around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned, and often sacrifice their lives for being true to their love of the same sex. It is good to see a movie that does not portray a same sex relationship as one of casual sex or one-night stands. The relationship is one of committment, of trust, of pain and caring, of going through the good and the bad together. Heterosexuals do not have the corner on good relationships. This movie tries to portray the love between two people and the struggles they faced, largely due to the intolerance and rigidity of the church.