Of An Age (Australia)

A very interesting story about the peppy romance between a young queer man’s first brush with love with his friend's older brother, this film was quite charming. A story split between two decades, its the kind of film which will remind one of films like 'Weekend' which are about short lived love stories suspended in time and how it can make or break herts in ways that you can't imagine or think. And this is my second Australian feature within a few days of each other.

The film starts with a frenzy very fast paced scene where the film is set in 1999. High schooler boy Kol finds himself in a frenzy when his dance partner Ebony wakes up stranded near a beach after blacking out. In a mad dash not to miss the big competition, he rushes to pick up her red-fringed gown hitches a ride with her brother Adam, who according to Ebony is the only person available to help them out and who has a car. Adam's presence has Kol both on edge and at ease. A few years older and already out of “uni,” Adam is the first adult to take an interest in Kol, and the shy younger man blossoms under his gentle gaze. When it becomes clear that making it to the competition is no longer in the cards, Kol gradually finds himself in the raptures of a sexual awakening as he and Adam discuss music, literature, and what the future might hold for two boys from small-town Australia. Throughout the languorous car ride, the young men steal sidelong glances at each other. As they pick Ebony is when Adam mentions that he is gay. When they finally return home, Adam offers Kol a change of clothes. They sit pensively on beds in adjacent bedrooms, acutely aware of the overwhelming presence on the other side of the wall. (One of the most beautiful scenes on agony and love). Eventually the next day, finally the desire leads to Kol's first sexual experience and something that both Kol and Adam feel strongly about, except the next day Adam is moving to Argentina. Circa 11 years later, it's time for Ebony's wedding and Adam and Kol both meet at the airport and they rekindle the connection that had been forged all those years ago. Except Adam hasn't told Kol that he is now married to a man and when Kol finds that he is shattered even after these years. In a very loving mature scene, the two men and lying in bed next to each other after the wedding talking about the first night and how the night spent with Adam in his adolescence seems to have haunted him in some singular way.

The film has a lot of very memorable scenes. If you think of it, the scenes are not great, but the way they have been directed and acted, you feel the palpable tension between the characters. As their conversation grows and they start finding common grounds, you can feel the passion these characters have for one another throughout. Even after the first night when Adam goes down on Kol who cuts very quick, Kol promises "I can come again". Adam knowingly confirms that Kol will come again, but in a way that implies not just that they’ll continue exploring their newfound physical intimacy. He seems to also be saying to Kol that there will be other boys, other bodies, other awkward climaxes in the company of relative strangers. But it feels that first night had a total different significance for Kol. That night meant everything for Kol as is evident when he says that he has met many boys but they don't know the feeling that he does. Both Kol and Adam are amazing as actors. Even though the film probably is from Kol's perspective, it is Adam who had my complete attention. Not only is he gorgeous and beautiful smile, but also as a character, it feels that Adam is also forced to re-evaluate whether the choice he made of moving in in life and getting married was the right one or not. The practical brain of mine says, of course it is the right thing to do. It's been 11 years. But the romantic in me can see Kol's viewpoint on whom the experience of first night is so strong that even after 11 years, the fact that Adam is now married just breaks him. He feels cheated.

While one may argue that the film plot if thin, and I definitely fall in the club, but an interesting treatment, which is almost like love and coming of age for a budding teenager and his awakening sexuality, the emotions that connect Kol and Adam are super strong and very complex. Even though you have no idea of what happens in their lives in the 11 year gap, but the bond between the two men is so strange that it is almost impossible to not be moved by either of the characters dilemma. Young people don't have it easy, especially when you are dealing with sexuality and to top that you realize that life will go differently for us than almost everyone we've ever met. The feeling is not always the best but it's the truth. And just like hat, this film, which has a title which just fits it, captures feelings across a decade about loving for the first time and how past and future connect each other. (8/10)