Lonesome

Lonesome

With a brief run, at the cinema, I was eager to catch this one, when leaving the cinema circuit, and was happy to pay a bit more. I really like the film, but it doesn't constitute for a good movie. I was expecting a more polished good Arthouse quality film. The acting and script are bad, yet the lead is still captivating. Something about him. I really like the independence of our Casey, leaving his small south west Sydney town, and heading for the big smoke after running from a shameful and psychological tragedy. Casey says it how it is, proudly gay, it isn't to soon, before he shacks up with a new lover. Also, weirdly enough, Casey has weirdly never seen the ocean. This guy has a lot of baggage, and we really sympathize with him. He is a very lonely dude. The homosexual scenes are frank, and I warn you, there are a lot, In your face, and heavy, no holding back. The handheld film, has great music, and very clear picture clarity, but in substance and story, rides on too little, with an almost "who cares" attitude for many viewers. Casey's new lover, I kind of found annoying, and obnoxious, but again, frankly opinionated. More so, the disturbing part was the unexpected * scene, near the end, which I found repulsive and disgusting, as the lead gang banger, himself. All in all, entertaining, and different, Lonesome is, but where it travels, is a kind of nowhereverse.

In small-town Australia, young gay man Casey can't get what he wants locally, instead causing a deadly scandal. He hitchhikes to Sydney, "to see the ocean". Living on the streets and by his wits, he hooks up with guys he meets on his phone's online app. One is Tib, who takes him in, providing him with couch, some work, companionship, and sex. But when Tib's own problems causes him to revert to his s promiscuous ways, , things get difficult between them. There is lots of male nudity and (likely simulated) sex, which leads me to believe the film is geared to a particular audience. However, Casey does have a back story that is slowly revealed, and part of his journey is to let go of his past, and reconcile his feelings of unworthiness with his streak of independence.

Casey is a drifter from the country who arrives in Sydney with a cowboy hat and not much else. He crashes a party, where he is clumsily hit on by a girl, but he brushes her off and leaves before he's discovered as an interloper. He stumbles into a scene in which two men are going at it, and responds to their invitation to join in. He ends up staying, and forms a casual relationship with Tib, who was the bottom in that threesome. Tib is even able to fix the homeless Casey up with work as an "i-tasker", doing odd jobs advertised online. However, when he responds violently to the incursion of another man into their bed, Tib kicks Casey out. Casey has no problem finding gay sex, but seems to miss the mark in finding any other kind of connection. He winds up as the "houseboy" at a BDSM themed party, in a series of very distressing scenes in which he is degraded. I felt like I was at that party too, and desperately wanted to leave. The guy who employs him at the party looks like a rugby star turned boxer, with handsome, hypermasculine features that have clearly been through their share of wars. I wasn't surprised to find that the actor playing him did in fact play rugby - and in the mid-'90s, became the first rugby player in the world to come out as gay, as well as the first high profile Australian sportsperson to do so. The movie kind of has a happy ending. At least, I think it's intended as such. The thing is that the acting from the guy who plays Casey, Josh Lavery, is off. It is hard to believe some of his line readings, especially in the more dramatic scenes. He has barely any dialogue - the movie goes for that whole arty minimalist approach where the characters give nothing away - but he's not a skilled enough actor to convey anything much without dialogue. The movie might have the most explicit gay sex I've seen in a movie that isn't real. That's about all you'll take away from it, because the plot is faint, and the lead performance barely registers.

...about halfway through the film, and the journey of the lead character, the situation that motivated him was revealed in an effective scene. Had that revelation been used to offer deeper insights into his character, as well as those he had interacted with by that point, it could have served as a powerful character study. Instead the audience is blessed with violence, apathy, and shallow sex presented for shock value. Had the script spent more time exploring the emotional ramifications of its protagonist's loneliness, the film might have had an opportunity to be remembered for more significant reasons...

Of course it's not always a compliment when someone calls a movie courageous, but in this case it really is. It shows some darker sides of gay culture with a bluntness that we seldomly see, without any judgement, just observing. To me it also showed that these 'darker sides' of gay eroticism can have their own function in a persons life. And there's the courage of the two actors that play the main characters, to take on with such intensity parts that have such explicit gay sex and nudity. I'm particularly impressed with the very subtle, naturalistically introvert acting of Josh Lavery. In my opinion he would very well function in a scala of roles, from action hero to romantic interest, but apparently up until now he has mainly been in what we call 'gay' movies. He also has a very impressive voice. In one other review the term gaysplectation is mentioned. I can see why, there's a lot of scarcely dressed or bare naked young man to be admired. But I think the term doesn't do right to the movie, because of the intense acting and the venturous parts of the story. The music of this film just seems weird every once in a while, as if taken from some low-budget 70ies movie.

Good looking Aussie country boy, Casey, has left home and heads to the big smoke. Quite a steamy movie that starts off with sex at the truck stop on his way to the city. When he first arrives he meets up with Tib on Grinder for a threesome. He ends up staying there and helping Tib out with iTasker jobs. They're not really boyfriends but there is a lot of sex. Casey wants to get closer but they both have issues with family and eventually end up in a fight. Quite an interesting, raunchy look into being young, gay and unwanted. Can only give it 3/5 though as there's not much of a storyline.

It's a very good film which deals with a romantic gay relationship. Both of the lead actors are excellent. The story concerns aspects of love and rejection felt by both of the main characters. The background of both young men is explored very well. The lead actor is very attractive, and the secondary actor is very handsome. The scenery of Sydney and the beaches nearby is quite good. The sex scenes are very good and are done tastefully. I only gave it seven stars instead of ten because of a totally unnecessary violent BDSM scene toward the end. The plot could have been resolved without that being shown.

Well, I'm always excited to see queer stories to be told on the big screen. But sadly, this one just missed the mark. Videography was on point, both landscapes and people were shot to match the vibe of the scene. Sex scenes were also well choreographed and pleasant to watch. However, rather than helping it grow, the stunning visuals overshadowed the story. Firstly, the acting was off. I don't know if it's from the director's instructions, but the long pauses between each line made the whole film off-paced. The most convincing acting was probably the actors' * faces. Secondly, the story just wasn't working. It wasn't developed organically, but instead, I got the feeling the plot points were inserted way before the story was even written, which made the story feel forced. Thirdly, what's with the Stranger Things music constantly playing whenever there's a cutaway? In all, with the problems in acting and the story, although it came with stunning visuals, Lonesome is only good, if you think of it as an art house *.

Josh Lavery as Casey and Daniel Gabriel playing Tib were real stars here. I don't recall either of them putting a foot wrong under the tight direction of Craig Boreham. The supporting cast was uniformly good too. The sex and the nudity didn't bother me at all. These are integral to the lives of young gay guys. Casual sex and promiscuity are a given in much of the queer community. I've lived this and, to me, the guys portrayed were true to life. As the film progresses, we learn about the background of the two leads, especially that of Casey. Those back stories explain much of the motivations and behaviour of the two protagonists. I don't want to leave spoilers, but I've reduced the mark to a seven as I thought the ending could have been handled better or written differently. However, all in all, a good film.