Lonesome

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.

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.

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' orgasm 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 porn.

Lonesome

Who would have thought that a movie director and script writer in 2022 could conclude that some attitude and sporadic nudity was sufficient to sustain a movie.......well it just ain't! At best we had some simplistic emotional exploration but it was shallow.

There was an early scene on the beach with Casey that remained unexplained, in fact it was a slow burn revealing his backstory. When it was revealed it was quite banal, things got complicated at home so he fled to the city. Wow so rare!

What was good was the chemistry between Casey and Tib, this was the only reason I continued watching. Also the losing oneself in transient relationships to avoid emotional entanglements was cleverly engaged with as a coping mechanism in gay life.

Despite the emotional vacuum Casey became "attached" to Tib and then misread a situation that lead to a violent encounter. I got the feeling we were looking at children pretending to be adults, what with the constant storming in and out! As a depiction of gay life this was a rainy Tuesday in Brighton and only slightly more interesting than "hair night" lol!

Always a problem how to end such a movie and I think they went with the right choice. At best this is a 5 out of 10 I enjoyed the camera work but the story was so shallow. It really needed a proper script writer.

There's an interplay between the stark sudden and the slow burn throughout this movie. We begin with an immediate Immersion into the drift of Casey's life and his sexuality which has driven his path this far. He's taken off away from his birthplace after a rejection of him by his married lover, an unexpected tragedy, and his family and community virulence afterwards. And, he works his way along the edges of people in activities out in the public towards the ocean where he tries to finish his part in it and life. He is unsuccessful. Rejected by the sea, Casey then drifts back into Sydney where he quickly finds and joins a small orgy in an unofficial residence. The afterglow of he and its prime mover, Tib, leads to the next in the movie's series of latent simmerings - a number of gig economy small jobs and handyman tasks while also falling for this roommate. The two of them eke out an existence together until Tib faces a deeply personal rejection and responds as he seems he is wont to do. Tib's reaction, in turn, thus feels to Casey as yet another rejection and his self-defense destructive impulses sets him off adrift once again until he finally wakes up that this is not the life he wants for himself or Tib.

You may not appreciate this sort of sloshing meter. You may likewise either be repulsed by Lonesome's edginess which, it seems to me, is part of the current Australian motion picture (and especially its LGBTQ+) storyline landscape. The lonesomeness of this movie, however, is manifested through both, not only of Tib and Casey, but also of those they come in contact with and interact with throughout its storyline.