Whole New Thing

The elements that were designed to visually encompass this film, are absolutely great! From the house, the clothing (or lack of) of Aaron's character family to the lighting schemes in every situation, Whole New Thing is exactly what Hollywood should tackle: a good story that resonates with real life situations, and a treatment where twists and turns, not manipulation, lead to a very convincing film.

The textures of every small detail were almost handcrafted, especially the music. This is one of the reasons why Canadian films are important: they are a counterweight to American films, (though I still believe that Canadians, as Chileans, Mexicans and all of America's peoples are American).

I'm proud of this film and the way it explores (maybe not in depth, because it was not its purpose) a really difficult issue to which we all close our eyes and ears, and think as impossible and weird. My hat off too for the co-writer and actor Daniel McIvor.

Maybe you'll love to see this film over and over again just to discover how well done it is!

I saw this to a packed audience at the Toronto International Film Festival today with director, lead actor, and producers in attendance.

This film exceeded my expectations and was enjoyable to watch. This film explores sexuality and relationships mainly through a home-schooled boy whose family integrates him into a regular school, coming into contact with students and one teacher in particular. This was an engrossing and very interesting exploration of this topic with tenderness, realism, and an excellent screenplay.

A few outstanding aspects:

1) SCREENPLAY: very intelligent, strong characters, motivations, with some very witty lines that really worked and, at times, got me laughing. Good flow.

2) VERY STRONG ACTING: The lead actor (first film for Aaron Webber) was very well cast, not to mention the performances from all leads was very strong. Kudos to the director for pulling this together.

3) VISUALS: The scenes and visuals are slightly out of the ordinary resulting in something that intrigues and makes it worth watching.

There is, however, one small area that was lacking believability which would make this an otherwise outstanding film: the evolving relationship of the lead character with his teacher. A bit more care with this crescendo is what is needed. With a few tweaks highlighting a special moment, or an additional scene, the movie would be perfect. I was thoroughly engrossed in the characters and story and give this movie a very strong endorsement.

Canadian director Amnon Buchbinder's coming of age comedy Whole New Thing is an engaging look at an intellectually precocious 13-year old boy who develops a crush on his gay English instructor. Set in rural Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, newcomer Aaron Webber is outstanding as the quirky Emerson Thorsen whose attraction to his teacher Don Grant (Daniel McIvor) threatens to create serious problems for the teacher, the school, and his clueless parents. While the film delves into unconventional subject matter such as nocturnal emissions and causal sex in washrooms, Buchbinder deals with these topics in a matter of fact way without taking any narrative or stylistic risks.

Rather than continue with home schooling where he seems deficient in key subjects, Emerson's free-spirited parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy), enroll their gifted son in the local high school. Emerson has written what looks like a 500-page Hobbit novel and has knowledge far beyond the reach of his rural classmates but is lacking in social and emotional maturity. Looking sexually androgynous with hair coming down his face and a touch of lipstick, he is bullied by his classmates and sneered at when he proposes that the teacher throw away the book they are reading (Snowboard Snowjob) in favor of Shakespeare.

He naively pursues his teacher Don, a gay man, but seems to have no understanding of how his actions are putting his teacher in jeopardy. Buchbinder throws in some undeveloped subplots about Kaya having an affair with a local worker and Don thinking about reconciling with a former lover but the characters are paper-thin and the stories do not come to life. Though Whole New Thing brings some insight into the confusion of an adolescent waking up to sexual ambiguity, I found the relationships unpersuasive and lacking in reality. Aaron Webber, however, is definitely a talent to watch and the haunting score by David Buchbinder, the director's brother, using Arabic, Celtic, African, and rock melodies, played on a group of exotic instruments, is worth the price of admission.

This is a touching movie about Emerson, the 13-year-old son of hippies in rural Nova Scotia. He's been home-schooled; hoping to interest him more in academics, his mother decides to send him to the local school for the first time. As he becomes the target of bullies, more and more he develops a crush on his English teacher, Mr. Grant, who as it turns out is a closeted gay man who frequents the highway rest stop. His artless advances towards Mr. Grant scare the hell out of him, leaving Emerson hurt and confused. Meanwhile, his parents' marriage is in a crisis that they try unsuccessfully to camouflage from him.

There were a few thin spots (a few threads were left hanging ), but in general it's a sweet, reflective movie that compels us to identify with Emerson and invites us to think about the emotional reactions it raises in us. Another lovely Canadian (and specifically Maritime) queer film in the tradition of The Hanging Garden.

Well-acted with very believable characters, we follow the story arc of 13-year old Emerson being forced out of the home-schooling nest by his free-spirit, eco-friendly hippies-cum-parents into the harsh (I'm sure by Canadian standards) world of public education.

This event is a catalyst for Emerson (predictably) and for his parents and new teacher (not so predictably). For Emerson it is all new wounds, for his parents and teacher it is a reevaluation and in some senses an awakening.

This is a thoroughly pleasant study of idealism accommodating reality, the (sometimes) thin line between romantic love vs fraternal love, romantic sex vs lustful sex, and friendship vs fraternity. And it's a nicely developed story of coming of age, coming out of the closet and coming to your senses.

I would like to think of this as a good movie for all ages, but perhaps I'm too liberal and open-minded/lax in discipline. As 10% films go, it just barely qualifies; the gay theme is subordinate to the stories of the individuals, each with their individual histories, needs, and future.