Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Teenage Kicks is a romantic drama about a troubled teen who is in love with his best friend.
Miklós (Miles Szanto) is a teenager grappling with his homosexuality, especially with his attraction to his best friend, Dan (Daniel Webber). While watching his half-brother, Tomi (Nadim Kobeissi), masturbate, he drops an apple and Tomi notices him. In a fit of rage, Tomi berates him, runs out of the house, and gets on his bike. Eager to explain himself, Miklós hops in a car and chases after him. During the chase, Tomi ducks down a side street to escape him and gets hit by a car.
Devastated by Tomi’s death, Miklós finds that he has very few places to turn. Because of his guilt, Miklós also feels that his parents blame him for Tomi’s accident. Meanwhile, Dan has started dating a girl he just met, Phaedra (Charlotte Best). Upset that his best friend, who he is secretly in love with, has little time for him, Miklós is left to deal with his anguish alone. Unable to express his grief, Miklós heads into a downward spiral of drugs and hostility. Will he be able to come out of it?
Some Thoughts:
Teenage Kicks is an emotional ride that is at times hard to watch. Director Craig Boreham has put together a fine group of actors for a project that has many tense moments. Miklós and Dan’s deep friendship is cemented from the opening scene, as is Miklós’s sexual curiosity. Both characters are so well defined early on that the viewer gets an immediate connection with them. And once Tomi dies, the film has you in its grasp and won’t let you go.
Everything Miklós does is an expression of grief, and some of it is difficult to watch. I don’t want to get into it all because it’s best to experience it fresh. However, there were a couple times I almost turned it off and walked away, but I had to know what happens. That is the power of a well-crafted movie.
For the Teenage Kicks to work, it needs a talented cast. Luckly there isn’t a weak link. From Miklós’s mother (Anni Finsterer) to Tomi’s pregnant girlfriend (Shari Sebbens), every actor knows their role and they all deliver fine performances. It also helps that the story is well paced and expertly shot.
The Final Verdict:
Teenage Kicks is a well-crafted film about people being eaten away by grief. Because the main character is a teenager whose guilt causes him to fall into a downward spiral of anger and drugs, it can be difficult to watch. But the end is worth the ride.
