Of an Age

Greetings again from the darkness. One of my (many) pet peeves involves movies where we are supposed to believe a couple finds eternal love after barely spending any time together. Now I fully understand some artistic license must be taken in love stories, as there are only a couple of hours to work with, but the challenge is making the audience believe it. For the films that do it right, it's a thing of beauty.

Macedonian-Australian writer-director Goran Stolevski handles this expertly in his first film since the excellent (and much different) YOU WON'T BE ALONE (2022). A frenetic opening pace has 17 year old Kol (Elias Anton) panicking when his best friend Ebony (Hattie Hook in her first feature) phones after a wild night of partying. The two are supposed to be in the finals of an amateur ballroom dancing contest. Kol gets a ride from Ebony's older brother Adam (Thom Green), and as the two search for Ebony, a natural bond begins as easy conversation covers numerous topics. When Adam matter-of-factly admits he's gay, Kol's nervous energy shifts into overdrive.

This bond only has a 24-hour window to blossom, as Adam is headed to South America for graduate studies. But what a 24-hour period it is. The two men continually cross paths, and so much is conveyed with very few spoken words. Glances, body language, and eye-contact are all that's needed. That opening period takes place in 1999, and we then jump ahead to 2010. My, how time and age changes things ... and yet, doesn't.

We often see the fallout from unrequited love, but what of 'partially' requited love? Few films have better captured longing and emotional pain. We feel the aching and see it on Adam and Kol. Many scenes take place in a car, adding to the closeness and feeling of magnetic pull. For me, director Stolevski utilizes a few too many close-ups, although the approach does add to the intensity of some moments. The film may not be heavy on plot, but the emotions are strong enough to keep us invested.

Opens in theaters on February 10 and expands on February 17, 2023.

This is an outstanding Australian film, the lead actors Thom and Elias give phenomenal performances with some outstanding wit and humour that balances the heartbreak and devastation that both men feel. Rarely do I walk away from watching a film that felt like I had been given the chance to be part of the lives of two people, that was this film. It is a very sad film that depicts the impact people can have on one another in a raw and really realistic way. The aspect ratio didn't bother me, I wonder why people struggle with that but I felt it made you focus more on the characters in front of you. Fantastic film that I highly recommend to anyone, not necessarily only gay men.

This movie is proudly Australian and shows how bonds can last, it is about the sex by the connection humans being can transcend, ThomGreen and Elias Anton are superb and story can be slow and all I wanted as a wide frame of the camera in the performances.

Pros 1. The acting 2. Thom Green 3. It's Australian babe.

Cons 1. The story can sometimes seem slowly but I strong believe it is worth to see where those characters are.

2. Short frames on faces, I did want a wide shot now and then 3. Some of the scenes were too dark in the light

You can stop reading now as I believe my review covers what needs to be covered.

I have watched thousands of movies in my life and the vast majority I could watch again and not remember I ever saw them. The list of those movies which have touched me is in the end fairly limited. "Of an age" is definitely such a movie. The acting of Thom Green and Elias Anton is absolutely phenomenal, the story is insanely human and beautiful and I end up in tears and sobbing. The close-ups make the movie extra intimate and since the acting is so good, you are really with them, in the car, sharing their feelings. To me, the movie is really about how "timing" means everything in life (in any aspect of our lives really); the movie also shows how much sheer beauty there can be in us, humans. Some days, you kind of forget about that with all the hatred all around us. This movie is a gem and the director obviously must have thrown some of his own life experience in there....

Of an Age exists in the thin line between comedy and tragedy, a slice of life at two critical moments of Kol's story that while narratively is very particular to it's time and space, holds a universal application of exploration, acceptance, love and ultimately being at peace with the choices we make and those we had no say in, sometimes we carry a single moment forever and even the briefest chance to revisit it, while heartbreaking, holds a sweet catharsis.

Thom Green and. Elias Anton have a natural chemistry that is undeniable from the first furtive glances, through the gradual transition from casual shared interests to deeper questions of identity.

Goran Stolevski has constructed a beautiful film that can be claimed by so many as their story, even a world away. We can all find shared experiences in films set in places we've never been, as Kol does.