Jason_V
Senior HTF Member
Title: Of an Age (2023)
Tagline: All we have is now.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director: Goran Stolevski
Cast: Elias Anton, Thom Green, Hattie Hook, Toby Derrick, Grace Graznak, Verity Higgins, Jessica Lu, Jack Kenny, Louise Child, Milijana Cancar, Julia Harari, Joshua Johnson, Senuri Chandrani, Vele Stolevski, Biljana Oyston, Slobodan Andonoski, Donna Dimovski Kantarovski, Peter Rayias, Kasuni Imbulana, Jonty Reason, Sam Perry
Release: 2023-02-10
Runtime: 99
Plot: A Serbian ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend's older brother.I'll admit, I was apprehensive about Of An Age. I have a pretty terrible time with accents when I'm watching TV at home (example: I had to watch all of Andor with subtitles; we also watch Below Deck with subtitles). I will also fully admit I understood at least 85% of the dialogue in the movie without a problem, which is far more than expected. Maybe having the Australian accent on my phone helped me in this case? I'm not sure.
Of An Age focuses, largely, on two men: the younger Kol and the somewhat older Adam. Kol is a dancer making his way through school with a largely unsupportive family; Adam is on his way to get a PhD. Their paths cross when Adam's sister desperately calls Kol for help. The two men take a road trip to get the sister, and one singular pronoun at the end of the trip turns Kol's world upside down.
I likened this movie to a REALLY long Act I, a short Act II and almost no Act III to a friend. I don't think that's entirely fair, though. There is an impossibly slow build through the car ride, one that I felt ratchet up more and more until it was ready to explode. Because of the direction (a lot of the film is shot in close up, providing a very intimate feeling between the audience and the two leads), I felt each glance, each look, the unspoken words, what they both wanted to say to one another...but don't...until Adam does. If anything, it's like great foreplay...working each partner into a lather, both wanting something so desperately but trying not to show they are desperate...and then nothing happens. The air is let out of the balloon.
That's the majesty of this movie for me: as an audience member, I know what I want to have happen. Not for me, really, but for the characters. But they hold off. Of An Age isn't about the two men finally getting together; no, it's really about what happens after, essentially, a one-night stand.
Of An Age focuses, largely, on two men: the younger Kol and the somewhat older Adam. Kol is a dancer making his way through school with a largely unsupportive family; Adam is on his way to get a PhD. Their paths cross when Adam's sister desperately calls Kol for help. The two men take a road trip to get the sister, and one singular pronoun at the end of the trip turns Kol's world upside down.
I likened this movie to a REALLY long Act I, a short Act II and almost no Act III to a friend. I don't think that's entirely fair, though. There is an impossibly slow build through the car ride, one that I felt ratchet up more and more until it was ready to explode. Because of the direction (a lot of the film is shot in close up, providing a very intimate feeling between the audience and the two leads), I felt each glance, each look, the unspoken words, what they both wanted to say to one another...but don't...until Adam does. If anything, it's like great foreplay...working each partner into a lather, both wanting something so desperately but trying not to show they are desperate...and then nothing happens. The air is let out of the balloon.
That's the majesty of this movie for me: as an audience member, I know what I want to have happen. Not for me, really, but for the characters. But they hold off. Of An Age isn't about the two men finally getting together; no, it's really about what happens after, essentially, a one-night stand.
