Lonesome (Australia)

A coming of age story about loneliness and inherent guilt. Merge that with a very honest and sexually frank look at gay culture in the era of online hook-ups. At one point the film does try to ask whether notions of romance and connectedness are being lost in a period where sex can be used as a balm to cover emotional wounds. But also in the undercover, the story is more about wounds that take time to heal and the survivors guilt that it leaves you with where you have no problems being treated like shit sometimes. It's a fascinating story with some very very explicit sexual imagery, a bit of which was probably necessary.

Casey, a country boy, is trying to escape his upbringing decided to visit Sydney. He is penniless, hungry and it is established that he is gay in the very first scene. He crashes a party to steal some food. Using Grindr, he meets a guy Tib, who invites him over for a threesome. Not knowing rules post sex, he just hangs out with Tib. Both Casey and Tib are hiding their vulnerabilities; Casey’s hometown lover killed himself, Tib is trying to save money to get his deported mother a visa back into the country. They bond over having terrible fathers and eventually something that almost appears to be a romance forms between the two, whose chemistry together is undeniable. Cases is clearly depressed and somewhere is in guilt for being the reason for his ex-lover's death. Meanwhile Tib drowns himself in Grindr hookups and casual sex. The relationship soon crumbles and Casey is left with no money on streets. He spirals into degrading himself, as that is what he feels he deserves. He lets a group of older men use him as a sub slave and he agrees because he thinks he deserves it. Things are about to go much further south, till finally a heart broken Tib finally replies to Casey's message and they meet together having finally realized that they both probably fit very well with each other. 

I have some mixed feelings about this film. The narration flows like a pipe of art, some of which is very pretty and some absolutely stretched for no reason. Actor playing Casey feels very novice, struggling to show emotions. He has an odd dialogue delivery, which I am not sure was on purpose or not. Regardless, he has his country charm that works, as long as he doesn't speak. In contrast, Tib, as an actor was quite good. H gets more of a character arc but a lot is still left unsaid. Also, he is largely absent from the second half of the film. The ending of the film centres so heavily on Casey’s self-realisation that it has forgotten that the audience hasn’t seen Tib go through any changes. The film explores male body and the variations in gay sex very minutely and in detail. There is a raw openness to all those scenes and situations where you feel it's so real. But only if the same depth could have been felt in the characters and their arc, the story could have been a gem. You really have to try and search and find the message about alienation like social, economical, sexual etc. It's only when Casey reaches a point where he readily agrees to be used up as a sub that it did hit me that he is so full of guilt, that he thinks he deserves to be treated like shit. But he is also secretly pining for Tib's love and he doesn't want to let go of that just because of a minor tussle. It's Casey’s reclamation of himself and his steps toward meaningful romance. How I wish, the film focused more of the relationship between the two men. The film ends on a hopeful note that shared isolation and loss can yield mutual comfort. The tone of the film is uneven but nonetheless story of belonging somewhere and with someone. (6.5/10)