“Sebastian” is an Intimate, Explicit Portrait of a Double Life

As more multiplex audiences get to experience the story of an author exploring his pseudonym in the mainstream hit and Best Picture nominee American Fiction, a Sundance Film Festival entry now at the Out on Film festival, depicts a young British novelist leading a shocking double life in Mikko Mäkelä’s Sebastian (B). Rharidh Mollica plays the indie film’s title aspiring writer who becomes a sex worker to land fascinating stories; and although the actor’s own part is a bit underwritten, his vantage point becomes a gateway to bridging his understanding of several generations of older gay men, with all its fights, frailty and fantasia. The film is very explicit in its bedroom scenes but also rich in honesty and humanity. Sequences opposite the great actor Jonathan Hyde demonstrate why films like this deserve a place in the discourse. Cinematographer Iikka Salminen’s London is one of deep isolation and loneliness, underscoring the austere and clinical viewpoint of its title character. There are also some titillating bits, so get ready. The movie falls into some of the typical traps of auto-fiction and gives scant development to characters such as the protagonist’s friend and colleague played by Hiftu Quasem. Ultimately the film escorts viewers to tender and touching revelations mostly more than skin deep.

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