There’s been a clear theme from romantic movies released this February. It’s a basic premise: former lovers reconnect after a significant amount of time apart. Both Your Place or Mine and Somebody I Used to Know, the two films I reviewed last week, take different stances on the dilemma. Of An Age, a movie set in Australia and directed by Goran Stolevski, presents its own variation.
Of An Age follows Kol (Elias Anton), a 17-year old Serbian immigrant and amateur dancer, who when we first meet him is running late to a dance competition. His dance partner and best friend, Ebony (Hattie Hook), is stranded at an unknown beach after an all-night bender prompted by the news she didn’t get into a prestigious acting academy. In typical fashion, Ebony calls Kol to rescue her, all but guaranteeing the pair will miss the dance finals. After walking the tightrope of not getting caught by Ebony’s mother, Kol corrals Adam (Thom Green), Ebony’s brother, to aid him in driving across town to find her. Adam is unlike anyone in Kol’s orbit—he reads Franz Kafka and understands Jorge Luis Borges, listens to obscure music, and has a searing, sarcastic sense of humor that appeals to Kol’s sensibilities. The two immediately click on the long drive. When they finally arrive at the beach to Ebony’s rescue, Adam reveals he’s gay, sending Kol into a panic. He goes from warm and receptive to cold and distant.
After the eventful day, Kol arrives back home to his uncle and other family members watching soccer on the living room television. They prod him to sit and watch the match, instead of retreating to his movie to read alone, ”you know what they say about guys who read…” He feels on the shirt Adam gave him to change from his dance blouse and begins to masturbate to the scents and memory of his new obsession, but is interrupted by a phone call from Ebony to meet up at a party. The internal conflict rages on. Kol again connects with Adam, and the two leave for their second drive of the day, this time going to a secluded car park overseeing the town. Kol discovers something about himself that he’s long suspected but never had the chance to explore: a man’s body. The problem is it’s Adam’s last night in town—he’s leaving the next morning for his Ph.D. program. Both men are left distraught. A decade passes when we see the two reunite to watch what’s changed, and maybe more importantly, what’s stayed the same in time between their first encounter.
Stolevski, who also wrote the film’s screenplay, was clearly inspired by Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight); and if you’re making a romantic drama, why wouldn’t you follow the lead of the genre’s best? The car scene takes up a large chunk of the film’s 99 minute run-time. The back-and-forth, intellectual banter between Kol and Adam and Stolevski’s insistence that the audience stays in that moment with the pair, as if we’re on the long drive with them, makes the film work. It’s a tender representation of what it’s like to discover yourself and fall in love for the first time, and how fleeting and brutal being in love can be. Love can both build and destroy, and Stolevski doesn’t spare the audience from either.
The movie’s main trio – Anton, Green, and Hook – knock it out the park with their performances. Hook particularly as the film’s foil is hysterical; she’s almost too believable as a diva. Of An Age is somehow a slow burn but also ended pretty quickly, leaving the audience wanting more. It reminded me a lot of Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight in some ways and also the aforementioned Before trilogy. I enjoyed it as much as any other movie I’ve seen this year.
Do yourself a favor or go see this one, and when you do, let me know what you think!