Newcastle
Review
by Anthony Morris
More on Newcastle: Behind The Scenes - Video
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There is a
fine line between teen angst and being a dickhead - and Jesse (Lachlan
Buchanan) wanders across it a little too often for Newcastle's good.
Sure, he has got a lot of problems on his plate:
There
is his older brother Victor (Reshad Strik) who has moved back home (and
turned into a bully) after his pro surfing career ended.
There is his younger brother (Xavier Samuel) everyone calls "Fag-us" (instead of Fergus) because, well, he is clearly gay.
And, of course, there are the dreams of surfing stardom that are dashed when he fails to deliver the goods at a qualifying meet.
But
while everyone else (even the thuggish older brother) gradually
develops into a slightly rounded character, Jesse remains an angry
dickhead - stomping around sulking and moaning and abusing everyone
around him.
Even when he and his buddies (plus Fergus)
go on a camping trip to an isolated surf spot and he finally gets to
score with his hot girlfriend, he just ends up with even more to be
angry about...
Though this time he has a pretty good reason.
Newcastle
is well shot, the cast are convincingly awkward, and director Dan
Castle's script has a decent movie buried in there somewhere...
probably one about Fergus (the most likeable character in the film) and
his homosexual awakening.
However that might already be the
intention as the countless butt shots, tanned and shirtless cast (the
lead doesn't wear a shirt for the first half-hour of the film - sure,
he is a surfer, but can you name a non-porn film where a female lead
wears a bikini for a solid half-hour of camera time?) and all-male
skinny dipping scenes makes Newcastle one of the gayest "straight" films in recent memory.
As it stands, unless you are a huge surfing fan, you can keep driving past Newcastle.
2.5 out
of 5
Newcastle
Australian release: 6th November,
2008
Official
Site: Newcastle
Cast: Lachlan Buchanan, Xavier Samuel, Reshad Strik
Director: Dan Castle
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