This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Eban returns to his hometown Christmas from Seattle. He is a bit vague about the reasons he has come (which we later find out). Killing time growing through local shops, he sees a young 15 year old handsome boy Charley and rather insistently strikes up a friendship on the pretense of swapping lessons about guitar and being lonely etc. You can tell that Eban likes him. Charley, a lonely teenager now lives with his father after his mother's untimely death, so he enjoys the attention and care shown to him by Eban. The two start to hang out, walk on beach, cycle around; till one night finally Charley makes a move and they cuddle and kiss. Interestingly neither of them really understands or is mature enough to understand the consequences. One night over a sleepover when Charley's father comes to get him, this is when Eban's father consults him. We are told that Eban had an affair with a young student of his and was hence let go. His father reminds him that he is repeating the same mistake and if he doesn't change his pedophilic behavior, he will call the police himself. Eban tries to keep his distance, but Charley reminds him of the promises he made. The film ends with them both eloping together out of the town.
As I mentioned before, here the audience is left to read, whether this is forbidden but true love or pederastic predation. (One mild, semi-clothed interlude aside, there’s no onscreen sexual activity). The makers here neither sentimentalize the story or demonize it. As an audience, honestly I was in two minds about the whole situation. Yes, due to age difference it is wring from every perspective. Charlye has likely been love deprived, so as a 15 year old he knows he wants to be with Eban (also likely because of the fact that recently two of his closest friend eloped to Florida to be with each other). Meanwhile, we can't be so sure of Eban's motives. He has a history of liking young boys, but whether he truly loves them or uses them, we don't know. We do see that Eban never makes a physical move, but still the intentions are very questionable. When Eban tries to end relationship, it is Cheryl who forces them back together. Sure, but Eban is supposed to be the mature one. Shot in video and indie, home camera style, the acting by both legs is quite decent, but one's liking of this taboo subject will be extremely subjective. The film is also a bit slow, so you gotta be patient. (5/10)
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