Of An Age is yet another beautifully photographed and emotionally honest melancholy queer coming-of-age film the likes of which we’ve seen more and more of in recent years. But just because the film bears such a similarity to other movies doesn’t mean it’s not effective.
Writer/director Goran Stolevski, coming off of his critically acclaimed first feature You Won’t Be Alone, offers a simple story about recent high school graduate Kol (Elias Anton), who takes a long car ride with his friend Ebony’s older brother Adam (Thom Green) to pick her up after a night of partying left her far from home. But it’s not the why that matters, all that matters is that these two young men end up in a car together for hours and begin to develop a spark.
Chemistry, Eyelines, and Camerawork
Anton and Green immediately have chemistry, and most of Stolevski’s writing for the pair brings that out beautifully. The two men make even the more self-consciously intellectual moments of their conversation, including somewhat forced references to Borges and Kafka, into incredibly charming banter.
There’s a feeling that the content of their conversation isn’t what matters so much as the rhythm of it. There’s a comfort in their back and forth. It takes a little time to start but eventually falls into an exchange that pauses only when Adam sweetly teases Kol and the younger man takes a moment to smile to himself.
But it’s not only the dialogue and vocal performances that make this extended section of the film work. There’s some fantastic eye acting from both actors, especially Anton, as they survey each others’ bodies in alternately long and furtive glances. And the camera does a beautiful job highlighting what they’re looking at; there are gorgeous close-ups of backs, chest, and arms that perfectly communicate the desire of the looker.
It’s somewhat surprising that the film doesn’t specifically reference the work of Claire Denis, whose own male-body-obsessed queer classic Beau Travail was released in 1999 when most of Of An Age is set, given how indebted the film is to her. The lack of verbal reference to an influence wouldn’t register in most cases, but it does feel odd after Of An Age references Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together, another late 1990s queer film full of desirous images.
It’s not only these images of bodies in close-up that are remarkable, though. Stolevski and cinematographer Matthew Chuang create some striking and thematically potent tableaus using architecture as well. Whether we’re looking at two closed doors separating Adam and Kol in different rooms of the same house or the gorgeously reflective glass facade of a hotel that emphasizes just how small these characters are, Of An Age is perhaps just as interested in buildings as it is in bodies.
Effective, But Not Unique Enough To Stand Out
Of An Age manages to draw the viewer into its characters’ world and perspectives, leading to some powerful moments of sadness and transcendent joy, but it fails to stand out from the other films of the same ilk. This isn’t necessarily a criticism; there’s undoubtedly much worse company than Beach Rats, God’s Own Country, and Pariah, to name a few. It’s more of an observation on the state of the queer film.
These small-scale, emotionally true, gorgeously shot coming-of-age stories are undeniably valuable, but we may be reaching a saturation point. Of An Age is a good movie with great moments, but it’s not a unique movie. Even its framing device, the 1999 story is bookended by time in 2010, feels like it’s been done already and better by other films, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong, in particular, comes to mind.
The film has few flaws (the literary references and its framing device are about it); instead, its greatest downfall comes from the outside context that it’s simply another sad gay movie, even if it’s also quite a good sad gay movie.
7/10 SPECS
Of An Age opens in select cities on February 10 and nationwide on February 17.
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This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.