Mikko Mäkelä’s riveting LGBTQ drama boasts a thought-provoking script and a terrific lead performance, resulting in a film that feels authentic and genuine.
★★★★☆
Max Williamson (Ruaridh Mollica) is a young magazine writer writing a novel about a young gay sex worker. For research, he creates the pseudonym Sebastian and becomes a sex worker himself—but before too long that alter ego bleeds into his personal life, and his reasons for plunging into this underground world start to change.
Sebastian is the second film by Finnish-British writer-director Mikko Mäkelä, and it’s clear he has grown as a filmmaker during the seven-year gap between films. The narrative effectively portrays the feeling that many people experience when they move to London: urban loneliness. Mäkelä must have felt this way when he moved from Finland to London for university, and it comes across perfectly in Max, who is from Edinburgh, a long way away from his family and seeking love and affection in his life.
The culture of the young professional is to be successful by any means necessary. Max looks up to some of the great authors and emphasises that Bret Easton Ellis was a published author by 21, whilst Max is 25 and still doing freelance work for a magazine with only a couple of published short stories to his name. Every interaction he has is about his work, and it’s his eagerness to create the ‘best novel’ and make a name for himself that leads him to take a more hands-on approach to research.
These two forces of pressure eventually collide, and it becomes evident that the reason Max keeps on going back to the work of sex work is not just to craft the perfect novel, but also because he also loves the affection and attention he receives from these often older gentlemen.
The script is very well-written, and he highs and lows that this character faces are very engaging. It’s always great when a film has situations that make the audience cringe because it’s so uncomfortable for the character. The narrative is a beautiful tale of sex work in the digital age, whilst also being almost a coming-of-age story about Max finding and accepting that he enjoys the attention he receives from sex work., Max never becomes a caricature of a gay sex worker, as is often seen in some LGBTQ stories; he is a three-dimensional character who wants to live both lives, and you’re rooting for him to do so throughout. It’s quite a task to hold a film like this on the shoulders of just one person, but Mollica does a tremendous job of juggling these two personalities and never fails to deliver an outstanding performance throughout the entire film. Jonathan Hyde also delivers a touching performance as an older gentleman who shows Max kindness and companionship during their shared experiences.
The use of real London locations adds to the film’s authenticity, including the wonderful Charing Cross Foyles bookshop and the BFI Southbank cinema. Sebastian is beautifully shot; up-and-coming cinematographer Iikka Salminen effectively captures the drearier side of the city, which suits Max’s feelings throughout most of the film.
The Verdict:
This well-written drama breathes new life into an oversaturated genre, featuring a standout performance from lead actor Ruaridh Mollica. Both he and director Mikko Mäkelä are undoubtedly talents to keep an eye on.
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.