Sebastian

A queer writer and sex worker finds his own story and voice, hands-on.

"Sebastian" addresses issues such as shame, authenticity in fiction, consent and work-life balance with a gentle touch. The power asymmetry in sex work is shown with a simple plot device which is effective without being crude. The right of sex workers to tell their own story is stressed by the narrative structure itself until the climax in the very last scene which wraps it all up nicely.

Seen at HIFF, where it was very well received by the audience. The director told us his original inspiration from the London queer community while he studied there.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"Sebastian" is a strange movie as the concept about a queer writer living a double life as a sex worker is pretty bizarre, yet, an interesting concept. This movie has left me with some mixed feelings as I find the movie to have some really strong moments but some not so strong.

Finnish-British Filmmaker Mikko Makela direction and writing for this story is pretty good as Makela's approach on the themes and characters are strong. Queer cinema hasn't been approached with this form of atmosphere and it was interesting to see Makela taking a new approach on queer cinema with good performances from the cast members, interesting conversations, and challenging aspects on the setting, tone, and character. The production design is good and camerawork was solid.

The dialogue is interesting as there are some really great dialogue moments but at the same time, some of the dialogue felt clunky and weird. Whether it was intentional or not, it feels a little off-putting. The characters have some investment but as the movie continues, the main character becomes a little difficult to fully connect with and it does cause the movie to feel a little of a drag.

The third act does fall apart a little as it feels unsatisfying to the climax. But despite it's flaws, I still found myself interested to see what happens next and I am glad I saw it. As much I wasn't very big on it, I applaud for the new take.

Despite the film's confident naturalism, it seems less intimate as it goes on, with Max somehow growing more distant and generic as he becomes more comfortable in his own skin.

Synopsis: Max (Ruaridh Mollica) is a 25-year-old aspiring novelist, living in London and paying his dues working at a literary magazine. Frustrated by his own ambitions and the pressures to succeed, Max begins moonlighting as a sex worker with the pseudonym Sebastian, secretly meeting men via an escorting platform and using his experiences to fuel his stories. What begins as a few furtive meetings soon becomes a hidden nocturnal life, and the debut novel that he has been longing to write finally seems within reach. Finding himself more comfortable as Sebastian than expected, yet determined to keep his exploits a secret, Max increasingly struggles to remain in control of a delicately balanced double-life. As he confronts conflicting feelings of ecstasy, shame, and exhilarating liberation, Max has to reckon with whether Sebastian is merely a writer's tool to achieve first-hand authenticity -- or whether something more is at stake.

Well, I've never used a sex worker in London so had no idea about the huge sums of money to be earned. £300 an hour! That's serious money. No wonder the impoverished students who formed the basis of Max's initial research got into the trade.

Max's odyssey through the world of escorts engendered tensions. He was earning huge sums while using the clients for his novel but also beginning to form relationships with some of them.

Max developed personally too in a different way. His initial reluctance to be known disappeared as we saw in the very last line of dialogue in the film.

I found the characters in the film to have been well rounded and believable. The script was well written and captured the world Max was living in extremely well.

I'm glad I saw this.

Max is a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London. Alongside his journalist job, he works on his first novel, centered on gay male prostitution. Max finds his inspiration in an original way: he recounts his own experiences as an escort, under the alias of Sebastian. He is embodied on screen by Ruaridh Mollica, a charming and talented actor. Ruaridh perfectly conveys the inner complexity of his character. He is in almost every shot, including the numerous and graphic sex scenes that fortunately do not overpower the story. Writer-director Mikko Makela takes a non-judgmental approach to deal with topics such as the creative process, the world of escorts, self-discovery and self-acceptance. The images and colours are beautiful. The city, with its anonymity and loneliness, is a character in its own right. I found the movie interesting. It shows a raw side of current gay sexuality and correctly portrays a young artist in search of both success and identity.