๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ (๐๐๐๐)
“Growing up was never meant to be simple. Especially when the truth lives inside you.”
๐ฌ Rating: โ
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๐ญ Genre: LGBTQ+ Drama, Coming-of-Age, Indie
โญ Starring: Miles Szanto, Daniel Webber, Charlotte Best
๐ฅ Directed by: Craig Boreham
Plot Summary:
Teenage Kicks (2016) follows Miklรณs Varga (Miles Szanto), a 17-year-old boy grappling with the chaotic mess of adolescence โ grief, guilt, and a growing realization about his identity. After the sudden death of his older brother, Mik navigates the fractured terrain of family, desire, and self-discovery in the rough suburbs of Sydney. Torn between cultural expectations and a yearning he can no longer deny, Mik’s coming-of-age journey becomes an emotional free fall into love, loss, and truth.
Artistic Analysis:
Director Craig Boreham crafts a film that is gritty yet poetic โ handheld intimacy meets raw realism. The cinematography is soaked in dusk tones and silence, allowing emotion to build in glances and spaces rather than heavy dialogue. Itโs an unfiltered look at youth: messy, unsure, often painful, and undeniably human.
Performances:
Miles Szanto delivers a deeply vulnerable performance โ equal parts restrained and explosive. He carries the emotional weight of the film with authenticity and depth. Daniel Webber, as Mikโs best friend and object of hidden affection, brings quiet complexity to a role that couldโve easily fallen into stereotype. The supporting cast, especially Charlotte Best, adds warmth and tension in all the right places.
Emotional Tone:
Tender and tragic, but never melodramatic. Teenage Kicks speaks softly about identity and grief, but its message echoes loudly: that being seen โ truly seen โ is one of the bravest parts of growing up. The film doesnโt offer easy answers, but it gives something more honest: recognition.
Final Thoughts:
Teenage Kicks (2016) is a bittersweet snapshot of youth, identity, and aching truths buried beneath the surface. Itโs not a coming-out film โ itโs a coming-through one. A quiet indie gem that will resonate long after the credits roll.
