Newcastle

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.

I just saw this film in LA at Outfest and I loved it. This film is well directed, acted, and shot. The subject matter may be challenging for some but the relationships were very real and contemporary. Young people are more open-minded about sexual identity and its many challenges and the director presents the issue of homosexuality in a way that makes it seem so natural to the situation. Mr. Castle elicits some strong performances from his neophyte cast which reminded me of Coppola's work with his young actors in The Outsiders. I also thought the adults were integrated into the story in a very real way--these aren't absent parents but people in their kids' lives. The surfing camera work is stupendous. Don't miss!

NEWCASTLE (in Australia) is an interesting take on the very male beauty pageant that is Australian surf culture among teen/20 somethings... and viewers should be aware that the writer/director Dan Castle is a gay film maker. As a result his awareness of the visual aspects of the young male form in surf sand and sex scenes is to the fore of this 'pretty' film. Reminiscent of PUBERTY BLUES (1982) and BIG Wednesday (1978) and a male version of BLUE CRUSH without the surf contest, NEWCASTLE shows the Australian mid coast steel city's glorious beaches and aqua waters with frolicking male beauty and testosterone challenges. It has a reasonably interesting storyline and some surprises and one very startling moment in the dunes, but somehow lacks gravity. The Parents and Grandfather are 'just there' as characters, the girls no more than a distraction from the boy antics, the older brother issues..all just get enough screen time to make them vaguely followable. Visually it is a triumph with incredible photography of almost being in the surf with the guys, and an affection for the male form that only a committed gay film maker could possibly dare to present. The young actors were very game to agree to participate and in the future would be proud of their achievement. Xavier Samuels, the least pretty of the boys ironically has gone onto bigger and better things in the TWILIGHT series. NEWCASTLE is a state of mind, an erogenous zone and a great place to surf. Some terrific scenes at the very surreal Newcaslte ocean pool are almost scenes from A BIGGER SPLASH. It is exceptionally well cast. The star of the film no doubt is the unforgettable photography during the surfing scenes. Overall, there is a lot of near nudity and some completely nude sequences. It must have played to screaming audiences in a packed cinema.

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.

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.