17-year-old Leo (Liam Mollica) is secretly crushing on his best friend Boof (Luke J. Morgan) but it terrified to tell anyone he’s gay. In a bid to keep his sexuality a secret, Leo starts dating Monique (Olivia Fildes) but as she wants to progress their relationship, he becomes increasingly more reluctant. As Leo struggles to suppress his feelings, he draws the attention of his over-bearing father and those around him. Things get even worse when Leo crosses a line with Boof, and finds himself a target for his fellow classmates.
‘Sunflower’ from writer/director Gabriel Carrubba is your classic coming-of-age tale, the like of which I’ve seen many times over the years. The film is set in Melbourne and it paints a very typical picture of a young boy coming to terms with his sexuality. Everything seems dark and scary, and no one around Leo wants to help him figure out who he is. While Leo spends his days pretending to be one of the boys with Boof and trying to convince himself to take the next step with Monique, he’s secretly online chatting to other men and masturbating over the rippling muscles he’s seen in the locker room.
The tension is there between Leo and Boof all the way through the film. Boof is just that little bit too over friendly, and the fact that the boys have no qualms masturbating together should surely be a red flag. When the inevitable happens, it pulls the two of them apart with Leo painted as a predatory closeted kid and Boof pretending he played no part in what happened. From that point the story falls into more cliches as Leo is ousted by his peers but thankfully connects with a kindred spirit he’s never paid much attention to before.
While the material may be very familiar, that takes nothing away from the performances. Liam Mollica is suitably wide-eyed and naïve as Leo, believable as a teenager terrified that his friends are going to discover his secret. Luke J. Morgan is fairly one-note as the bolshy Boof, the typical lad about town who thinks nothing of trashing his best friend to save his own face. There’s some chemistry there between the actors but it never threatens to tip into the sizzling category.
There’s nothing wrong with ‘Sunflower’, it’s a perfectly watchable and entertaining film, it just doesn’t have anything new to add to the coming out story. In these modern times, this kind of story feels a little bit dated as younger people are much more open about their sexuality and largely more accepted by those around them. Had this been set in the 80s or 90s, it may have rung a little truer but watching it in 2024, it just feels like old ground that’s been covered plenty of times before.
Cast: Liam Mollica, Luke J. Morgan, Olivia Fildes, Daniel Halmarick, Diana Ferreira, Sal Galofaro Director: Gabriel Carrubba Writer: Gabriel Carrubba Certificate: 18 Duration: 84 mins Released by: TLA Releasing Release date: 9th December 2024 Buy ‘Sunflower’ now
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