Strong and Moving!

A different way of telling a story

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This was an emotionally dark film that is very difficult to watch due to it's provocative and confronting nature. Nonetheless, Drown is rich, compelling and very relevant in addressing an important issue in our current society. The cinematography was beautifully executed, with strategically laid out jumps to different areas in time that keeps the viewer engaged. Many of the low scores seen on this page are due to the confusing nature of the movie itself. I have to admit watching the film a second time made all the difference. Only on my second watch did I really learn to appreciate how brilliantly strategic the time line jumps were placed.A bit of background knowledge in human body language and psychology is required to fully understand and appreciate this wonderful film. Any individual who are used to overstimulated and simple movie plots would otherwise find this flick very disturbing and distasteful.The movie follows three lifeguards. The main character, Lenny, is a closeted gay man who was raised by a physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive father. His father taught him to suppress his sexuality at a young age and the only way to survive is through rage and abuse. As a result, Lenny grew up to be a bloke with low self worth. He became a raging alcoholic who is afraid of his own feelings and sexuality. Externally, he puts on a persona of a bully and an alpha male that overachieves to cover up and compensate for the void he feels within. Meat, the second lifeguard, is Lenny's emotional co-dependent best mate. Their self worth are heavily depended on the action of the other. Meat was made fun of for his oversize "member" by the other boys when he was young and Lenny was the one friend that stood up for him and told him he should be proud not ashamed. In many way, Meat was Lenny's shadow doing everything Lenny told him to do. He's there for Lenny's emotional support and to inflate Len's ego whenever it is needed.Along came Phil - a new member of the lifesaver club - who saved a little boy on his first day on duty and became an instant threat to Lenny. Phil became more and more a threat to Len's masculinity as he gradually takes over his spotlight. Not only that, Len is physically attracted to Phil, making his feelings toward Phil a mix of both admiration and hate.Although Phil has a boyfriend, you would be blind not to see that he was becoming a moth to the flame that is Lenny. He would lie to protect Len despite being bullied by him. He would turn down a romantic dinner with his boyfriend to go out with Len. There's more than enough steamy sexual tension and homo-eroticism between these two throughout the film to start a sauna. Unfortunately, despite his hot for Phil and the fact that Phil was slowly falling for him too, Lenny was unable to reconnect to his long disconnected feelings and instead his inner shame was intensified by what's going on. Lenny's shame was turned up a notch after he finds himself receiving oral from a feminine guy at the gay bar and got caught by Meat. This led to a series of unfortunate events at the beach where Len humiliates and buries Phil alive the same way his father humiliated him and how he has been burying his feelings all these years. In the midst of all the nonsense, Meat confronted Len on how he has been secretly fancying Phil and has a disturbing way of showing it. Len challenged Meat to a swim off to prove his manliness. Huge symbol here: Phil is buried in the sand on shore to be drowned by rising tide and here you have Lenny swimming towards the ocean, far far away from him. Lenny's low self worth. The threat to his image and reputation of a champion. His feelings and sexuality. These are the things Phil was a symbol of. Lenny would rather drown than face his own demons and face who he really is within. This was result of the huge impact that his upbringing and hyper-masculine environment has on him.If this film isn't rich, I don't know what is. You can call it distasteful, a disgrace, and a perverted way to depict homosexuality, etc.. In reality, Drown is a one of a kind film that makes people think. Not necessarily with our own sexuality per se, but maybe with feelings that we have long abandoned; shames and dramas in childhood that we sometimes would rather "drown" than to face. I don't know. Just a sincere thought.All in all, a lovely film it was. There's something crazy alluring about a sexy tough guy that is emotionally messed up. Maybe I can see what's in the core of people that they themselves can't see? Matt Levett not only did an incredibly convincing job as Lenny, but he's oozing sexiness which was such a treat. This is a rare gem and easily one of the best Aussie films out there, especially if you are a fan of dark visceral materials. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

I assume the low average score for this title is due to the difficult and realistically portrayed subject of sexual confusion stemming from paternal abuse. Matt Levett, as Smithy, does an impressive job conveying the internal turmoil of a conflicted young man. The editing of some key scenes was awkwardly done, adding confusion about time lines. But Levett's acting maintained my interest. He carries the film.I appreciate the film's ability to make sexy Smithy's dysfunctional sexuality stand out against the upbeat backdrop of a bustling gay entertainment district. This was an intelligent element. Less intelligent was the overly prolonged beach scene toward the end of the film. After a while, it had the flavor of bad soft pornography, while too subtly touching upon Smithy's victimization (presumably by his brutal father) which he appears to be acting out with Phil. Phil's passivity hints at his own possible history of sexual abuse. The use of the Meat character as more neutral observer wasn't really effective.

I won't rehash the plot of this, many other reviews covering what happens. What I will say is that I have seen a LOT of movies in my 70 years and can say this performance is right up there with anything ever done on the screen. It's hard to watch this and not think of Heath Ledger, particularly in Brokeback Mountain, "going there." This young actor not only shows the full depth of the character but all the facets of "manhood" in western culture, from the worshipped sports star and stud, to the deepest depths of human anguish. Not only is he physically beautiful and worth watching for that alone, but there is not one second when the camera is on his face when he isn't communicating some of the deepest passions we can ever know in life's journey. I know the subject matter isn't for everyone but if you are a connoisseur of acting performances, give this guy an hour and a half of your time. Harry Cook as "Meat" isn't far behind either.

So completely knocked out by the direction, acting, filming, editing, music, the whole package. I'm 73 years old, worked in the film industry and have to say it's in the top ten Aussie films I have ever seen. I mean that. It's quintessentially Aussie. I know all the characters, worked with them, trained with them, been close to them, have known them, have seen their doubts, their tears, their unrequited love. So much pain has been thrown at us in this film. It's a testament to how hard it is for Aussie males to admit to themselves what their mates truly mean to them. I quietly showed this film to two lifeguards who both ended up in tears when we talked about it. They thought that the theme would relate to any sport, job, workplace or school in Australia. It may become a sleeper, it may become a cult but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This film is worthy of more than one Aussie award.