What would probably be another VOD viewing, since it got released in Canada a while back. But I’m going with a basic title today.
Since I didn’t go to VQFF this year, I didn’t get to see too many queer coming-of-age films. It was about time I made up for that by watching this one that just got its Canadian release a while back. What about a story with two teens who are trying to navigate their way through complications, and they have different perspectives. Like a lot of films I’ve seen, there’s a good amount of difference between them but the personalities are certainly a lot more different and even the subject matter was more than I expected. Finn (Josefine Glaesel) is constantly lashing out at the world due to an issue she’s bottling up. Tulip (Lilit Lesser) on the other hand is more shy and quiet about her personal issues and rarely expresses at all.
Our story begins with Finn sneaking out of Tulip’s bedroom and then proceeding to tamper with a toothbrush belonging to Tulip’s Uncle Stanley (Orlando Seale). There will be more of an explanation to that later. But the morning goes bad for poor Tulip when her father screams at her for playing music and proceeds to get angrier and more abusive. Well, there’s only so much she can take from living with him and Stanley. The two besties decide to skip school and hang out at Tulip’s nan’s house for a while where they secretly pry open her liquor stash and spend the day enjoying tea and biscuits. Now, we got to get into more about Stanley as he and his interesting interests play a part in this story. Stanley has just gotten back from a dancing class and buying some leather Gimp masks. He also gets kicked out of a record store from some other customers due to his eccentric neighbours. Gee, he kind of seems like some other guy I know. Tulip and Finn on the other hand hang out a club and listen to some live music where Uncle Stanley is hanging out as well. It’s here we learn that Finn is pretty annoyed with Stanley and we learn later on that Finn was sexually abused by Stanley. Anyways after a long day and night of drinking and hanging out together, the two besties come home and root through Stanley’s prersonal belongings, when they come across rubbery animal masks and while coming across even more weird things accustomed to his fetishes, the two ladies decide it is time to live elsewhere. WITHOUT Stanley. So they make their way out that night, and where do they end up? Most importantly, do they still stay BFF’s and/or become more than just that? More importantly, will Finn ever find a way to deal with the trauma after what Stanley did?
Sian Astor-Lewis has certainly made something of a fantastic film. Like I said, I’ve seen lots of these many times, but not with characteristics like this and certainly not with a storyline like this. Interesting how things went. The ominous dark lighting in a lot of these scenes really gave a chilling feel and added to the anxiety, discomfort, and misery of the characters. Not everything gets sorted out in the whole story, but that’s okay. It shows that some problems have no solution, and even if things end up going nowhere, we just gotta keep going, perhaps elsewhere. But To Nowhere certainly goes places when it comes to hitting emotional points and sends one on a trail of feelings, both nostalgic and hard-hitting deep in the heart.
To Nowhere can be found nearly anywhere on Canadian streaming services.