Tan Lines

As somebody who has criticized many badly made American gay movies, I must blushingly admit that Australia has now joined the ranks of the incompetent in his field.

The premise of Tan Lines is good, if familiar, and the two boy lovers, played by Jack Baxter and Daniel O'Leary, are effective. In fact, Baxter is perfectly cast as the lovely, attractive teenager and is a reasonable actor. O'Leary is almost as good as the troubled older boy, Cass. Their love scenes are the best things in the film. In fact, without Jack Baxter the film would be a complete waste of time. You really do want him to get his man. Apart from a few good jokes, the rest is appalling. The acting rarely rises above that of a third rate amateur theatrical group.

The director Ed, continually misjudges the film's pace, relying on long shots of the surf when he should have left most of it on the cutting room floor and lifted the pace of the film. He mis-casts the brothers Cass and Dan, so that the ineptly acted younger brother Dan is 16 and looks about 23, whilst his older gay brother Cass looks about 20.

The opening shot, that of Jack Baxter asleep with his headphones on, goes on and on and on. Why? Surely it can't be so that we can have the joyous experience of listening to the crappy rock music that boys of his type seem addicted to? There are some interesting and quirky moments which in a better film would have been effective. The fact that the boy sleeps with his abandoned mother, clearly in very difficult circumstances, emphasizes the shallow life that many in the film lead. (In a nice touch we never see her, only her sleeping body buried under bedclothes.) The loony aunt of the boy's putative girlfriend (easily the most dreadful piece of acting I can recall) lives a large house almost empty of furniture. What goes on there is bizarre, and again, could have been delicious in a better film.

Sadly, Tan Lines is just a badly made, badly scripted, badly acted and overlong film. I can almost guarantee that apart from Christian Willis as the teacher, none of the cast is professional and boy does it show. The last thing this film is is a gem, or anything else of substance.

"All I want from this life is a little space. That's all I want."

Those who say this film lacks heart clearly have never found themselves aware of the doldrums of everyday life. Or they simply lack a keen eye for subtlety. One of the things I love most about this film is its utter lack of a compositional score. There is no music safe for the songs we hear, quite lifelessly from Midget's headphones. In fact, lifeless is a marvelous word to describe this film because in its lack of heart, lies the terrible melancholy and truth of nothingness. It's about people trying to find something from nothing. It seems like a trite notion, and one which many independent filmmakers have tackled with little success, because of their indulgence and incessant naval-gazing. But here, "Tan Lines" writer and director, Ed Aldrige, has concocted a deliberately (and perfectly) paced art film about a community in a listless Oceanside town in Australia.

At first, the acting seems stiff. But then it becomes clearer that the characters' words are but sounds coming out of their mouths, with little meaning or punch behind them. They talk for the sake of talking. They try to express themselves, but only wind up exchanging banalities without really finding the motivation to say anything that matters to them. The acting is then perfectly synched with the tone of film which is listless. And wonderfully so.

It won't be everybody's cup of tea. People who love sweeping climaxes and funny gags to get them through a film would do well to look elsewhere. But for those who appreciate well made small films with an intention to entice and provoke feeling and thought, may find something to chew on from "Tan Lines". Not to mention, the film is beautifully shot. It's very static and coloured quite dryly, like the sun had made all of the colours fade.

In terms of the plot, it is quite bare, but rich with the nuances in the everyday life of this group of young surfers. Aldrige never spoon feeds you information or character motivations, yet his film never comes off as lazy or un-focused. It is a gift to watch a film wherein a filmmaker trusts his audience enough not to explain every single act that is being committed, but instead finds a way to keep the story moving along while making us believe every single character we see on screen. There is also a nice reference to Ms. Havisham from Dickens' "Great Expectations" in one of the characters, though that is my own interpretation. Again, a wonderful instance where a strange character is never explained, but merely meant to make you ponder after the film has ended. That is what I look for in films. I prefer to be left thinking once the credits roll. I know some moviegoers prefer simply to leave the theater feeling good, but for a more satisfying experience at the cinema, I do recommend well made small films like "Tan Lines" which leave mysteries up for the viewer to decide on. That is the beauty of art.

I'm sorry if I sound pretentious. There have been terribly negative reviews of this film, so take this as my counter argument, instead of a simple review.

It seems everyone in the movie is attempting to escape from where and who they are. Some actually leave. Some escape through fantasy, others with drugs or drink, still others by taking a holiday at the lake. The mother of the central character, Midget, seems to spend the entire movie escaping life through sleep, covered with a blanket and only reaching out for cash that Midget leaves for her next to the bed … a bed that he and his mother share. Even the money Midget provides his mother is "earned" from an old lady who escapes from her reality by watching Midget and her niece acting out a sexual charade.

Midget, who seems to be one of the few genuinely lovable, essentially "normal" people in the movie, keeps trying to figure out who he really is and what he really wants. Sadly he seems to be continually used and rejected by everyone … gay friends, straight friends, older people, young people, his mother.In the end Midget abandons his quest for love, gives up his hope of escape from his hopeless environment and attempts to resolve his loneliness in the only way left open to him.

You really have to love Midget. It's quite sad that love is in such short supply in his life.

I thought I had seen more than enough gay coming of age stories. Some told well, others not so well. It's a genre that is unbeatable: pretty young thing figures out who he or she is.

TAN LINES is a gay coming of age tale but it is amazingly up to date.

This movie is a wonderful surprise---a small gem, really. The photograph on the DVD and the title are actually misleading. The actor on the cover is not the lead, though he is good.

The standout performance in TAN LINES is the by the actor playing the main character. Jack Baxter is absolutely sensational as a smart and mouthy youth coming of age. He is attracted to other boys but also lets himself be distracted by females.

The Australian director of this movie has done a gorgeous job of creating a totally believable world of young slacker/surfers. This screenplay for TAN LINES is smart, funny, sexy, interesting and compelling.

Bravo to all involved, especially Jack Baxter!

If you wonder how one might find a fresh perspective on the old issues of coming-of-age and coming out, then check out this smart quirky movie, set in a small-town surfing community. The main characters are a self-questioning protagonist, and two brothers who are his surfing buddies. The older brother is a confident but alienated gay man who returns to his family after being driven away some years before following an affair with his high school teacher. The movie takes a number of surprising turns, and the relationships are complex and ambiguous (especially the relationship between the brothers, and the relationship between the older brother and his teacher). One Net-blurb inaccurately describes this movie as a "charming romp." Parts of it are quite funny, but it's a serious look at the stresses of a gay adolescence. The geeky-charming young protagonist, Midget, learns how to be callous, and to face disappointment, even as he learns about love and sex. Don't expect a romantic fade-out. The next-to-last scene has a brief, silent shot that provides a thought-provoking plot twist. The young cast were largely non-professional actors and they are fresh, fun, believable, sexy, and blessedly un-Hollywood in appearance. If you see this movie and like it, do not miss the terrific director commentary. The director is articulate, very smart about both movies and life, and funny. It's one of the best commentaries I've heard in some time.