Teenage Kicks (2016)
Miklós is at the age when everything feels high-stakes. He is coming to terms with his own sexuality, and when his best friend Dan reveals that he has a new girlfriend, this puts an end to their plans to run away together.
- Craig Boreham
- Craig Boreham
Rating: 5.9/10 by 25 users
Alternative Title:
Country:
Australia
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 38 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: australia, friendship, jealousy, drug abuse, sexuality, runaway, male friendship, loss, crack, cannabis, coming of age, grief, lgbt, sexual awakening, grieving, expulsion, brother brother relationship, survivor's guilt, gay youth, gay theme, based on short
Miklós (Miles Szanto) is a young man with ambitions to run off with his best mate "Dan" (Daniel Webber). Things get complicated when his brother is killed in a cycling accident and his friend decides he wants to stay put with his friendly new girlfriend "Phaedra"(Charlotte Best), just as "Mik" thinks it possible they might have a future together. His emerging homosexuality and his love for his friend take quite a beating over the next hour or so as the pair gradually, and not always peaceably, realise that this is not going to be a smooth ride for anyone. The narrative here is complex and rich; the acting actually quite proficient and the story has a certain honest messiness to it that I found quite refreshing. Nothing goes to plan because nobody has a plan. I could have done without the cluttering familial immigrant sub-plot, that rather took the focus away from the intensity of the principal story, but all told this is a better than average mid-budget effort with a strong story, plausible characterisations and an ending that offers a violent route to redemption that is tough to watch, but pretty poignant and doesn't deliver quite what you might expect.
