Closet Monster

"I wasn't always this confident. Growing up as the awkward gay kid in a small town in Pennsylvania, you're constantly told, 'Don't be yourself, don't be proud of who you are.'" Carson Kressley

From fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) to Boyhood (2014), coming –of-age movies over the last 30 years or so have been richly diverse from fantasy to reality. Certainly, being oneself was top priority.

Closet Monster deftly bridges that variety, presenting the tale of queer Oscar (Jack Fulton as a boy, Connor Jessup as 18 years old), whose mom abandons him early in life and dad doesn't measure up in the sensitive category. This entertaining film is more like a bittersweet indie than a mainstream comedy and one of the best of its kind in years.

Along with some appropriate fantasy sequences and a talking hamster (voice of Isabella Rossellini), director/writer Stephen Dunn nonetheless gives us the feeling of reality. Oscar comes slowly to the realization that he's gay with a whole bunch of interest and concern our part. Jessup plays Oscar with such low-key humility and humanity that he makes us want to spend more than ninety minutes with him. I hope Jessup gets the acting recognition he deserves—he's that good.

So real seem Oscar's challenges, from coming on a murderous sex crime as a boy to kicking dad into the closet (nice touch) as a young man, that when we bid him goodbye at a living that will foster his artistic talents, we may well feel we have taken mom's place, or at least the hamster's, in watching him grow up.

The film is realistic but uncompromising as it allows him to be a boy outsider but also befriend an attractive girl, confide in a hamster, and confront his dad with a maturity that suits his perceptive, tough-minded persona. It's no coincidence that the tree house he occupies is a refuge from his dad's temper and a home for his eccentric companions, from the hamster to attractive male friend, Wilder (Aliocha Schneider), and therefore a home for his alternative life.

Even if you are uncertain you would like a gay-centered film, Closet Monster will make you see that a well, warmly-told story from any youth pv will be more exciting than any other mainstream romance you will have seen in a long time.

Excellent author/director. He got it right. As a gay in this heterosexual world I have been targeted many times, I am now over 50 and still lives this heterosexual segregation daily, especially at work.

The situations you see in this film are REAL daily struggle that ANY gay person live, man or woman. If you are not lucky you get parents that are stupidly heterosexual.

If you want to see and feel what it is like to be born differently, watch this movie. If you are an heterosexual moron, like a lot of ugly people, then don't watch this, you'll get angrier in your moronic mind.

Thank you Stephen Dunn for showing some reality to the world instead of those FALSE Hollywood movies that PRETEND to show you the truth. Most Hollywood movies I've seen about the subject are hilariously schemed and false. It's like they never even spoke with a gay.

Anyway, very sensitive movie, well directed, well written, well acted, this Dunn character amazes me. Good work and don't give up, to me you are a REAL author.

I had no idea what this was going to be about (well, the title does hint you) and as a result I was felt stunned by how effective I found it to be. Another coming-of-age teen drama, but one that stands out from many other contemporary ones. The screenplay is simple but very well written, and the directing really impressive visually and thematically. This is the first feature-length film of the director and he really shows that he is a talent to look out for. Connor Jessup, who I had previously see from American Crime, is just fantastic here. One of the best leading male performances of the year and I really hope this film gets some traction with critic awards.

PROS: The first thing that you need to mention with this movie is the acting. With a whole bunch of new faces you tend to assume the worst, and this was not the case here. This movie was filled with good actors, from small roles to big ones such as the main character Oscar played by Conner Jessup. Although this movie was not a horror, the strong message that the movie had was delivered in a horrific way. You really got to see the dark the scary side of being a gay kid in the closet. This was shown in a very poetic way as well. With every scene being a metaphor for something greater and all the metaphors added up to sending a strong message at the end. The final thing that I really appreciated was the transitions in the film. Each transition did more than go from one scene to the next, the transitions acted sort of like chapters in the main characters life. This gave the movie that lit bit of an extra touch.

CONS: For me the few cons are greatly overshadowed by the film as a whole, but it doesn't mean they aren't there. The first problem I had was the one scene with the nuts and bolts. I won't give anything away, but this seen, although very deep and spine chilling, was very confusing. It was very brief and held no further context to the film. The other thing that bothered me was the ending. I completely understand that the ending needed to be simple to cope with the intense climax, but there is a difference between simple and boring. This movie forgot that.

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This is a gay based drama about a boy, Oscar (played as a grown up by Connor Jessup of 'Falling Skies' fame). He has had a childhood that few would be envious of. We see some of that childhood and then move on to when he is all grown up and longing to leave his hometown and go to art school – preferably in New York.

He is a creative and gifted soul who has a best friend in Gemma (Sofia Banzhaf who I love as she was in a 'Belle and Sebastian' video; the stupendous Scottish band)– he also talks to his hamster who is more than happy to reciprocate. He has got to the age where he no longer knows where the boundaries are or moreover he no longer agrees with them in any case. He is also trying to cope with his burgeoning sexuality and the attitudes of orthodox heterosexuality and casual and actual homophobia that have plagued him since boyhood.

Now this is a film where the themes are more universal and the parents and home issues are also ones that many will empathise with. Jessup plays the role really well and is completely convincing, but he is ably supported, especially from Aaron Abrams ('Hannibal') playing his father; that said all players here are up to muster. It is also a charming film and steers clear of the sensational side of drama to keep both feet as firmly as possible in the realms of reality (talking hamster aside that is); which I very much appreciated. This is a thoughtful, well made, acted, directed and scripted film with enough going on to keep you hooked and some good, every day humour to show its human side – so very much recommended.