The title "Teenage kicks" seems a strange choice for the kind of movie that this is, it sounds cheap and suggestive, something like a Larry Clark movie, while in fact it's an extremely serious, sincere and touching movie that really grabs you by the throat. It's about Mik, a young Australian boy from immigrant background, who has a very strained relationship with his parents, which deteriorates even more when his older brother is killed by a traffic-accident for which the father holds Mik responsible. Mik also has to cope with the fact that his best friend Dan, for whom Mik has a secret crush, gets involved with a girl, so Mik feels suddenly excluded and alone, and he starts a chaotic quest for recognition and affection.
It's basically a coming-of-age story: dealing with guilt, with confusing sexual feelings, and with conflicts among family and friends. Actor Miles Szanto is excellent and totally convincing as the tormented Mik. In spite of Mik's at times bad choices and his impulsive tantrums, you team up with him from the start and at many points in the movie his forlornness breaks your heart. There are harsh moments, but also moments of haunting beauty, like the sexual encounter that Mik has with an anonymous guy, where he for the first time experiences the glory of sexual fulfillment. It's a lot to divulge, but Boreham brings it all with great feeling and compassion.
In the end I would have liked to see some sort of positive conclusion or catharsis for Mik, especially concerning the relationship with his father. Well, maybe Boreham didn't intend any conclusions, it's simply life, where conclusions are not guaranteed.
Anyway: highly recommended.
