From the co-directors of the camp hit Desperate Remedies comes One of Them. Set in Auckland, New Zealand 1964, two awkward and sissified teens strike up a friendship based on being misfits in this highly stylized and satisfying film. The boys go off on a hike filled with flashbacks to all of their experiences. They dye and spray their hair, giggle incessantly, and ogle over a male pop star, but God forbid if they are "one of them." One day these boys just can't stop staring at the school hunk as he gets out of the pool, the words come slowly - and it sounds like it might be "he's gorgeous", but instead its "he's repulsive." No fear, they deal with their sexuality by film's end in this excellent portrayal of gay youth establishing an identity for themselves.
3 Reviews
The coming of age of two annoying gay teens
dwr24615 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This was a double bill on a video I rented in order to see the other film (First Love and Other Pains). While it sounded interesting from the blurb, I found the film itself to be an annoying disappointment.
One of Them follows two schoolboys in Australia. Jamie (Ciaran Pennington) and Lemmy (Cameron J. Watt) meet at school and become fast friends. Both are rather rebellious, often cutting class to go on adventures together. And both are rather effeminate, yet neither self identifies as gay yet. It is this conflict in their natures which drives the film, as the boys seem drawn to homosexuality, and at the same time fight it to the point of doing some horribly obnoxious things to those they suspect are gay. However, when they start examining their own desires, what they find is most disconcerting, and their struggle becomes one of self acceptance.
The main problem I had with this film is that Jamie and Lemmy are such annoying characters. They are obnoxious beyond words, and since so much of the film focuses on the horrible things they do to others "for fun," it's hard to feel sympathetic towards them when they are in the painful first stages of self discovery. A little toning down of their early activity would have made their later concerns more sympathetic.
The acting is okay. Both boys turn in believable performances, and do a decent job with the material they are given. But there's really nothing in either performance to recommend either actor as being particularly talented.
While it is laudable that this film deals with the emergence of homosexual longings in teens, this is much better handled in films like Nico and Dani, which I would recommend over this any day. A curiosity piece, perhaps, but not a particularly good film.
One of Them follows two schoolboys in Australia. Jamie (Ciaran Pennington) and Lemmy (Cameron J. Watt) meet at school and become fast friends. Both are rather rebellious, often cutting class to go on adventures together. And both are rather effeminate, yet neither self identifies as gay yet. It is this conflict in their natures which drives the film, as the boys seem drawn to homosexuality, and at the same time fight it to the point of doing some horribly obnoxious things to those they suspect are gay. However, when they start examining their own desires, what they find is most disconcerting, and their struggle becomes one of self acceptance.
The main problem I had with this film is that Jamie and Lemmy are such annoying characters. They are obnoxious beyond words, and since so much of the film focuses on the horrible things they do to others "for fun," it's hard to feel sympathetic towards them when they are in the painful first stages of self discovery. A little toning down of their early activity would have made their later concerns more sympathetic.
The acting is okay. Both boys turn in believable performances, and do a decent job with the material they are given. But there's really nothing in either performance to recommend either actor as being particularly talented.
While it is laudable that this film deals with the emergence of homosexual longings in teens, this is much better handled in films like Nico and Dani, which I would recommend over this any day. A curiosity piece, perhaps, but not a particularly good film.
A coming of age film with a difference
otpixie24 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
One of Them is a sensitively drawn story about two teenage {16yr old} boys coming to terms with their sexuality in the repressed atmosphere of New Zealand in the early 1960's. The two main characters, Jamie {Ciaran Pennington} and Lemmie {Cameron Watts} both give a beautifully understated performance where it would be all to easy to flounce and gesture in a parody of homosexuality. Throughout the film the boys are shown to have a darker side which tells of the internal struggle going on. Rebellious, maybe, but only against themselves and Nature for the "cruel blow" the boys feel she had dealt them. The ending of the film, where both boys admit to being "one of them" is poignant and the freshness of the actors prevent the scene from being mawkish. This film, done on a tight budget and with untried actors in the lead roles is delightful and I feel should be shown in schools.
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