Writer and Director: Gabriel Carrubba
Perhaps every generation needs a coming-out movie, even if the narrative is a familiar one. Gabriel Carrubba’s Sunflower places his version of the story in a Melbourne school where toxic masculinity runs high and where the pressure to have sex affects both male and female teenagers. But while the film features some excellent performances, especially from its lead Liam Mollica, Sunflower provides few surprises.
17-year-old Leo finds himself going out with classmate Monique (Olivia Fildes), and when she holds a party in her house, it’s expected that they will have sex. Leo’s best friend Boof will also be having sex with his girlfriend there. Indeed, the party has been organised in order that these teenagers can lose their virginity. Boof (Luke J. Morgan) is all pumped-up testosterone, handing out condoms to his mates. But Leo is quiet and gentle, qualities that attract Monique, who finds she always has to make the first move.
Leo tries to prepare himself for the big night, but he fantasises about Boof and Tom, a friend of his brother’s. Closing his eyes when he’s with Monique, all he can see are the muscles – rather salaciously filmed – of Boof and Tom in the changing rooms. And for some reason, when he’s aroused, he imagines he’s walking through a field full of sunflowers.
Perhaps more convincing than his awkward sexual encounters with Monique and Boof is the full-on homophobia that pervades his school. Derogatory insults are thrown at will amongst the boys, with one saying that homosexuality is unnatural. Leo’s suburban Melbourne is a far cry from Sydney’s Oxford Street and demonstrates that tolerance for LGBTQ+ identities doesn’t extend over the whole of Australia. Hypermasculinity, the film suggests, is still endemic in parts of the country, an issue that Nicholas Cage’s forthcoming film The Surfer tackles.
Leo’s parents are shouty disciplinarians, and so there is no sanctuary at home either. Apart from the presumably imaginary sunflower field, Leo’s only safe space is Tom’s bedroom, full of NASA collectables, even down to Tom’s socks. Here, in Tom’s bedroom, lit up like the night sky, Leo can see a future.
After this, the film can only head in one direction, and although its end is moving, it is also predictable. If only life were like this. However, as the world tilts to the Right on its axis, it’s a sobering reality that these kinds of coming-out films are still a necessity and a lifeline to some.
Sunflower screened at the One Fluid Night Festival 2024
