Sebastian

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" (Ruaridh Mollica) juggles a career as an aspiring journalist and novelist with charging £200 per hour selling his services as an escort to, mainly, older men. His boyish good looks and obvious inexperience at the latter makes him popular and he proves successful enough to use his varied experiences to form the basis of his book. His publisher likes the freshness and intimacy of the adventures of "Sebastian" but a rather self-induced setback at work forces a change to the dynamic of both his life and his work. Though there is the odd sex scene to enliven the drama, the rest of this is all a rather shallow investigation of the high-end comfort market and whilst Mollica is easy enough on the eye his performance over-relies on that and is quite lacklustre. The story itself has quite a few gaps that don't quite add up; timelines don't quite track and by the conclusion I actually thought that instead of offering us some sort of critical observation of an industry that transcends just about every aspect of society, we ended up with more of a rather exploitative - cruel, even, character about whom I really didn't care so much after a while. Jonathan Hyde brings a bit of (rather sad) nuance to the proceedings but Ingvar Sigurdsson's "Daniel" seemed just to Jekkyl and Hyde to be plausible at quite a crucial juncture in the young man's increasingly light-weight story. Rather than a movie, this might have made for a better three-part drama that could have focussed a little more cohesively on the aspects of his life, love and self-evaluation but as it is, it's all too bitty. Worth a watch, but not what it could have been.

In discussing an assignment for a Bret Easton Ellis report, a dispute surfaces as to whether one writer or the other asked for it first and if quality is subordinated to optics. The boss says, "I do think it best that queer writers cover queer authors" and that it is not a matter of optics but sensibility and sensitivity. This exchange illustrates an often-heard idea when it comes to art. Does it change if artists experienced, lived, what they write about? Does sensitivity and sensibility presuppose experience that translates, and is legible, as artistic quality?

Written and directed by Mikko Mäkelä, Sebastian is his sophomore feature that, like his previous one, A Moment in the Reeds from 2017, takes place in the LGBTQIA+ community. Mikko Mäkelä is interested in exploring questions of identity, personhood as a site for exploration with profound characters that defy any simplistic analysis. Max is a very interesting protagonist. Played by Ruaridh Mollica, Max is a young aspiring writer who already published short stories, some of which made him the recipient of accolades, and now wants to write his first novel. Ambitious and talented, he finds in sex work not only inspiration for his novel but also a vehicle for self-discovery. Sebastian is the name he chooses for his escort persona, something common in the profession as it helps to hide their real selves and therefore mitigate stigmatization. As someone new in this, Sebastian will encounter different clients who find in him something uncommon, i.e., someone honest and real who does not hide behind a description that does not belong to him. As one of the clients succinctly put it, "It's so nice that not everyone is deceptive." Words that do justice to their meaning because Sebastian is beautiful and they are captivated by him. The clients will provide Max the literary stimulus needed and also money, something that, for young authors, is not precisely abundant in the writing profession.

And while at its core a character study, something interesting about Mikko Mäkelä's feature is its social commentary about realities most do not have an insight into. Realities where money is always present, although many times occluding feelings that cannot find form to be translated directly. Love, even if it is of the carnal kind, and even if its purpose is short-lived once the fulfillment of desire is completed, never ceases to be but a façade of its true transactional nature that comes undone when the realization that the other is not a possession comes alive.

Its cinematography consists of aesthetic, stylish visuals that add to the sense of being in a world where appearance is of the utmost importance, its highest currency. Its sleek ambience bears a resemblance to The Girlfriend Experience, a resemblance, of course, not limited to its cinematography. Like Chelsea, Sebastian is not the answer to a traumatic past or the like, on the contrary, it might be said he is a heightened version when ambition meets possibilities.

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.