Set in the summer of 1999, an 18-year-old Serbian-born Australian amateur ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend’s older brother.
Many suburban teens experienced their first heartbreak in a car. The lack of public meeting spots meant connecting with someone happened at house parties where parents were absent and then whiling away the evening with that special someone you happen to encounter. “Of an Age” taps into that sentiment regarding suburban romance in a gay romance story. The ‘one fatal night’ timing and graduation changing lives feeds the urgency these two men slowly fall in love. At times tender and aching, the film captures the feeling of quick love and the wistfulness earned by reliving it an entire decade later. “Of an Age” features tender queer romance so earnestly portrayed all of us might find something to relate to and goes even further when old crushes reunite for a single evening in the kind of writing that’s so honest it’s beautiful if a bit long.
Elias Anton plays Kol, a Serbian-born ballroom dancer at 17 on the cusp of graduation. What’s supposed to be his triumphant day devolves into Uncut Gems-level panic as his dance partner Ebony drags him to the middle of nowhere to rescue her from a dangerous night out partying. While Ebony tries to recall what happened to her, Kol goes on a trip with Adam (Thom Green), her brother, and the two find they have a lot more in common than they expected. Over the next twenty-four hours, the two circle around each other, orbiting ever closer, hoping one shares their enthusiasm for the other.
Anton and Green anchor this film entirely with the most naturalistic performances. Once Kol’s in the car on a long drive to find Ebony, the two settle naturally into a dialogue that teases information (literally) and develops a chemistry the two share. By the end of the ride, Kol’s anxiety about missing his life-changing dance appointment diminishes, and his curiosity about Adam extends well beyond stuck-in-a-car levels. Anton’s performance as both innocent and wounded plays well against Green’s confident persona. One sees more of the world as an openly gay man, and the other’s journey starts that day. It’s a seminal moment for the two characters, and Anton/Green hits every beat. In fact, they’re given so much room to play with interaction scenes it feels a little long. The long car ride meanders from basic character info to Borges and Kafka to dancing to Bosnia. It’s a long scene, and the two carry it, but at some point, we’re past the point of establishing chemistry and more into the naturalistic feel of a different kind of movie.
Director Goran Stolevski keeps the film focused and builds a taut romance narrative. As writer and director, he juggles some small plates in the background (Ebony’s manipulative relationship with the shy Kol) but never lets them overtake the story. What could be seen as leaving threads dangling is just rounding out the world these two boys inhabit. With each new interaction, we understand a more nuanced vision of both Kol and Adam, never to be accepted in their rural community for being gay. Stolevski forces the camera to stay on its feet the entire time. It bounces ever-so-slightly in one-off close-ups, even as it switches from one camera angle to the other. What could be simple dialogue close-ups and mediums feels kinetic and tense. It never seems to settle fully.
This coming-of-age tale works magically because it’s so hyper-specific. It doesn’t spiral into complicated dramas about abusive friends, complex relationships, or suburban malaise. Instead, it trains its lens on this romance. Focusing on this movie’s early chemistry (and, later, full-blown tenderness) makes it uniquely relatable. Sitting there in the crowd, I idly wondered about some of my own experiences and reflected on those. The film evoked nostalgia, not for any one time but for a more youthful era when the world felt devastating and straightforward. I enjoyed the film. I’d recommend to romance watchers interested in a more authentic story.
In Select Theaters Friday, February 17th, expanding nationwide Friday, February 17th
