Newcastle

I really liked this movie despite the lengthy surfing scenes and lack of real depth to the storyline. The actors in the film were all entertaining to watch. There was a array of characters with various interactions...some funny, some sad, some utterly bland but contributory nonetheless. The scenery was incredible. I think many modern films lack that beautiful setting which captivates the audience so it was nice to see it be different in Newcastle. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Xavier's and Kirk's characters. It felt real and very believable. I was upset that I missed the scene at the end of the credits. There should have been a heads up that the movie was not yet done. Overall, I give this movie a 9/10 as I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.

Urged by a film director I admire, I decided to attend a 9:30 screening of "Newcastle" by a director new to me, at the Los Angeles DGA theater. I left the screening in a daze. I dreamed about the film and it was the first thing I thought of this morning. I've never met any surfers in my life - although I've seen "Big Wednesday" - but I have the feeling now that I know them and I was compelled and surprised by how much we have in common. The human drama attached to the waves is what sets this film in a category all its own. Unique. Coming of age in another planet, primitive and futuristic at the same time. A stunning cast of unknowns helps the feeling that we're peeping into something really private. The photography and the score contribute immensely to make this a phenomenal experience. Highly recommended.

Call me a gay philistine, but this movie has one of the most gorgeous group of young guys in any movie I've seen, and they spend most of the time bare-chested and often nude. But the film, in an effort, I guess, to get a PG rating, plays a ridiculous game of peek-a-boo with full frontal shots. If the film maker had just been casual about it, as films of the 21st century have been for a while, he might have added a bit of integrity and realism that the film could use. And probably made it even more commercially successful. Marketing people have obviously decided to downplay this aspect of the movie: the near constant focus on the guys' physical beauty, their faces, their bodies (especially their asses) and their surfing ability. And nowhere on the website or trailer is there any mention of the one really original aspect of the film: the integration of a gay teen in a group of straight guys: the way he's taunted, but accepted, and the way he finds his way to his first experience of reciprocated sexual affection.

Maybe the filmmaker will release a gay director's cut and test my thesis.

While I've seen some over-the-top homophobic comments of two 'reviewers'. This is not a "gay-themed" film. There's a small, but bright facet that is gay-themed.

Family, sibling rivalry among brothers, loss, teenage high-jinx, and a lot of surfing overshadows the fact that one brother is gay. The few PG moments of sex are between two older teen boys and their girlfriends. If seeing a male butt, (in a non-sexual context), makes you squirm, you better stay away from a ton of "regular" movies and museums too.

Anyway, "Newcastle" is the story of how a tragedy enables a family to overcome nagging internal tensions. There are no villains, just victims of their own fear and disappointment. The performances are all topnotch. A minus for US viewer: occasionally the Aussie accents are a little hard to understand.

This is going to have to become a gay cult favourite given the array of pretty boys on display here romping around with each other and the only remotely heterosexual action being a guy failing to satisfy his prospective girlfriend while his pal gets a blow job from her pal under the covers. I mean, at a couple points near the end one is left wondering whether or not the twin brothers are going to end up making out.

This movie could have probably done with a bit of tighter editing with some scenes such as the campfire scene and the trip out to the pivotal surf site dragging on a bit long, but the in-water scenes are particularly good though essentially limited to two fairly brief but crucial points in the film.

Shane Jacobson has a touching turn as the father, but unfortunately it is very difficult to picture him as anyone other than his legendary alter-ego Kenny and sadly for me this somewhat overshadowed his performance.

I'd give this a 6 out of 10 and several people at the screening I saw left part way through, but for the reasons stated above there may be those for whom this film is a lot more appealing.