Sequin in a Blue Room

Last updated

Sequin in a Blue Room
DVD cover for Sequin in a Blue Room.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Samuel Van Grinsven
Written by
  • Samuel Van Grinsven
  • Jory Anast
Produced bySophie Hattch
Starring
CinematographyJay Grant
Edited byTim Guthrie
Music byBrent Williams
Production
companies
  • Sequin in a Blue Room
  • AFTRS
Distributed byPeccadillo Pictures
Release date
Running time
83 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$45,000 [1]
Box office$12,872 [2]

Sequin in a Blue Room is a 2019 Australian independent queer coming-of-age, mystery and drama film directed by Samuel Van Grinsven, in his feature film debut. It was written by Van Grinsven and Jory Anast. The film stars Conor Leach in his feature film debut, Simon Croker, Anthony Brandon Wong and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. It had its world premiere on 14 June 2019 at the Sydney Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Narrative Feature, and was released in theatres in August 2020. The film received generally wide acclaim, and American review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes certified the film fresh with a score of 92%. It was filmed on location in Sydney.

Contents

Plot

Sixteen year old Sequin is queer and comfortable with his sexuality and has a healthy relationship with his father. He prefers anonymous and unconditional sexual encounters over having a serious and meaningful relationship. Sequin meets his one-night-stands through a dating app, and quickly ghosts them after their sexual liaison, in order to remain emotionally detached. But that all changes when he has a sexual encounter with B, a much older married man, who becomes obsessed with him and wants to meet up with him again. Back in school, he is asked out on a traditional date by Tommy who has a crush on him, and Sequin accepts. When Sequin gets invited by D to a group sex party at 'The Blue Room', B spots him and begins chasing him, until he is suddenly rescued by Edward, who he then has sex with. Immediately afterwards, Edward leaves telling Sequin to find him "out there", but he doesn't know who he is or anything about him, so he decides to track him down. After returning home from the sex party, Tommy arrives for their date, but Sequin has forgotten about it and blows him off. The next day he hesitantly reconnects with B, and has sex with him again in order to steal his phone to look for clues about The Blue Room. But after his wife keeps on calling the phone now in Sequin's possession, B starts stalking Sequin and pursuing him in order to get his phone back. Later, Sequin finds some contacts in the phone which lead him to an encounter with Virginia, a drag queen, who he ends up getting high with. Sequin is so wasted that he doesn't go home, and his dad gets mad and messages him that he has been kicked out. Near the end, he gets tricked into returning to The Blue Room based on false information on how to find Edward, but when he arrives, he is ambushed by B who savagely beats him. Having nowhere to go, he returns to Virginia's place, where he nurses his wounds, and they end up discussing his obsession with finding Edward. Virginia reveals information that leads to Sequin finally finding Edward, but when he follows him home, he discovers that Edward is in a relationship already. In the end, he reconciles with his dad and goes home, and the final scene shows Sequin and Tommy in his room watching Twilight together.

Cast

Production notes

In an interview with The Queer Review, Van Grinsven said that many of the storylines in the film were directly based on his own coming-of-age experiences, and his film was also influenced by New Queer Cinema, and the early works of Gregg Araki and Gus Van Sant. He also revealed that the movie was his graduate work from Australian Film, Television and Radio School, so it was filmed on a meager budget of only $45,000. [3] [4] Van Grinsven said the colour blue was almost entirely removed from the film; the outside scenes had no blue skies, and it was not visible in the costumes, set design and grading. He wanted to reserve it for the scene in 'The Blue Room', where the anonymous group sex party takes place. His reasoning for excluding the colour was to explore the effect it had on the audience when a certain colour is withheld and then you are suddenly immersed in it. [3]

Van Grinsven disclosed that Conor Leach was cast in the role of Sequin in a very unconventional way. Having no track record at filmmaking, a lot of agents and actors were reluctant to work with him. Leach had no prior film experience, but his agent sent Van Grinsven an email about Conor anyway, and he asked for an audition tape. He only watched the first two lines of Leach's tape, and said he knew "in an instant that he captured the self-awareness, quiet confidence, and the cunning energy of the character". After meeting with him in person, he was offered the role on the spot. Simon Croker  who appears in the film as Tommy, a love interest of Sequin, is an alumnus of Australian Film, Television and Radio School, along with the film's producer, editor and cinematographer. [3] [4]

Release

The film had its world premiere in June 2019 at the Sydney Film Festival, where it won an award for Best Narrative Feature. It had additional film festival screenings at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and Oldenburg International Film Festival, where it received two nominations respectively for Best Film. The movie had a limited theatrical release in August 2020, and grossed $12,872 at the box office. [2]

Critical reception

Harry Windsor of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a positive review, saying actor Conor Leach is "quietly riveting at the film's centre" and overall the film is an "auspicious feature debut...and upholstered by an impressive command of good old-fashioned craft" by director Samuel Van Grinsven. [5] Peter Sobczynski from RogerEbert.com said the film "moves with a confidence and style that keeps you hooked throughout", and said Leach gives an "impressive performance". Overall, Sobczynski rated the film Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg. [6] Peter Debruge writes that director Van Grinsven "opts not to dwell on the cautionary side of his striking 21st-century coming-of-age fable", and the film expertly "blends elements of fantasy and thriller", for a generally "illuminating" experience. [7] Gary Kramer wrote in his review for Gay City News that director Van Grinsven is definitely talented, "but despite its potential, this intriguing coming-of-age film never quite excites". However, Kramer did note that the cinematography is "gorgeously lensed" by Jay Grant. [8]

The Guardian said that although coming-of-age stories are not at all uncommon, Van Grinsven directs this film with "lustre and style", and praised the performance of Leach as a "silky, feline presence who owns every moment that he's on screen". [9] Tara Brady from The Irish Times , along with several other film reviewers, [lower-alpha 1] commented on the opening title card: "A Homosexual Film by Samuel Van Grinsven", comparing it to Gregg Arakis films, who introduced his movies in a similar fashion like The Living End and The Doom Generation , and citing Araki as an influence on Van Grinsven's directorial debut. Brady also noted that "this clever, compelling project was completed as the director's masters project". [10] Alex Davidson from the British Film Institute said the absence of women in the film is noticeable, but you don't ever see Van Grinsen directly address that absence. In conclusion, Davidson said the film "is a riveting and constantly surprising debut...and all the performances are strong". [11]

Randy Shulman from Metro Weekly said that while the film is visually appealing, the narrative is a little thin, but actor Conor Leach makes the film worthwhile, saying his performance was "magnificent, multi-layered, and a canny mix of sensuality, teenage cockiness, vulnerability and, when needed, utter panic". [12] The London Times also praised Leach's performance, but criticised the ending. [13]

Rotten Tomatoes certified the film fresh with a score of 92%, with the critics consensus saying the film "proves the coming-of-age genre still has fresh stories to tell and establishes debuting director Samuel Van Grinsven as a strikingly talented filmmaker." [14]

Accolades

Notes

  1. ↑ The Hollywood Reporter, RogerEbert.com, Variety, Gay City News, British Film Institute, Metro Weekly and The Queer Review

Related Research Articles

<i>Pink Flamingos</i> 1972 American film directed by John Waters

Pink Flamingos is a 1972 American black comedy film by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes Female Trouble (1974) and Desperate Living (1977). The film stars the countercultural drag queen Divine as a criminal living under the name of Babs Johnson, who is proud to be "the filthiest person alive". While living in a trailer with her mother Edie, son Crackers, and companion Cotton, Divine is confronted by the Marbles, a pair of criminals envious of her reputation who try to outdo her in filth. The characters engage in several grotesque, bizarre, and explicitly crude situations, and upon the film's re-release in 1997 it was rated NC-17 by the MPAA "for a wide range of perversions in explicit detail". It was filmed in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland, where Waters and most of the cast and crew grew up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Araki</span> American film director

Gregg Araki is an American filmmaker. He is noted for his heavy involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement. His film Kaboom (2010) was the first winner of the Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm.

"New queer cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in Sight & Sound magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s.

<i>Jackie Brown</i> 1997 film by Quentin Tarantino

Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United States and Mexico. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, and Robert De Niro appear in supporting roles.

<i>My Own Private Idaho</i> 1991 film by Gus Van Sant

My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent adventure drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V. The story follows two friends, Mike Waters and Scott Favor, played by River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves respectively, as they embark on a journey of personal discovery that takes them from Portland, Oregon, to Mike's hometown in Idaho, and then to Rome in search of Mike's mother.

<i>Edward II</i> (film) 1991 British romantic historical drama film

Edward II is a 1991 British romantic historical drama film directed by Derek Jarman and starring Steven Waddington, Tilda Swinton and Andrew Tiernan. It is based on the play of the same name by Christopher Marlowe. The plot revolves around Edward II of England's infatuation with Piers Gaveston, which proves to be the downfall of both of them, thanks to the machinations of Roger Mortimer.

<i>Dracula 3D</i> 2012 Italian film

Dracula 3D is a 2012 vampire horror film directed by Dario Argento from a screenplay he wrote with Enrique Cerezo, Stefano Piani, and Stefano Piani. It stars Thomas Kretschmann as Count Dracula, alongside Marta Gastini, Asia Argento, Unax Ugalde, Miriam Giovanelli, and Rutger Hauer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Wiseau</span> American director, actor, producer and screenwriter

Thomas Pierre Wiseau is a Polish-American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film The Room, which has been described by many critics as one of the worst films ever made and has gained cult status. He also co-directed the 2004 documentary Homeless in America and created the 2015 sitcom The Neighbors.

<i>Boys in the Sand</i> 1971 film by Wakefield Poole

Boys in the Sand is a landmark American gay pornographic film, released early in the Golden Age of Porn. The 1971 film was directed by Wakefield Poole and stars Casey Donovan. It was the first gay porn film to include credits and to be reviewed by the film industry journal Variety, and one of the earliest porn films – after Andy Warhol's 1969 film Blue Movie, but preceding 1972's Deep Throat – to gain mainstream credibility.

<i>Normal Life</i> 1996 American film

Normal Life is a 1996 American crime drama film based on the real lives of husband-and-wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson. The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton. The original screenplay was written by husband-and-wife team Peg Haller and Bob Schneider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troye Sivan</span> Australian singer (born 1995)

Troye Sivan Mellet is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his third EP, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Happy Little Pill", reached the top 10 on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his fourth extended play, Wild, followed by his debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood. The album's lead single, "Youth", became Sivan's first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23.

<i>The Babadook</i> 2014 horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent

The Babadook is a 2014 Australian psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her feature directorial debut, based on her 2005 short film Monster. Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear, the film follows a widowed single mother who with her son must confront a mysterious humanoid monster in their home.

<i>Luz</i> (2020 film) 2020 American LGBT romantic drama film

Luz – is a 2020 American LGBT romantic drama film written and directed by Jon Garcia, who also served as a producer. It stars Ernesto Reyes, Jesse Tayeh, Jimmy Garcia, Alma Gloria Garcia and Lowell Deo. The film had its premiere at Miami's OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival on August 24, 2020. It was then screened at Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Out on Film, FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival and Seattle Queer Film Festival. The movie had a limited theatrical release on March 19, 2021 and was then released to DVD and streaming services on April 6, 2021.

Conor Leach is an Australian actor who starred in Sequin in a Blue Room (2019). He grew up in Brisbane and graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne with a degree in theater in 2017.

Daniel Kyri is an American actor, best known for portraying firefighter Darren Ritter on Chicago Fire.

Samuel Van Grinsven is a New Zealand-born Australian film director and screenwriter, whose debut feature film Sequin in a Blue Room was released in 2019.

References

  1. ↑ Groves, Don (24 August 2020). "Samuel Van Grinsven's 'Sequin in a Blue Room' sets international release". IF Magazine .
  2. 1 2 "Sequin in a Blue Room". Box Office Mojo .
  3. 1 2 3 Kleinmann, James (12 April 2021). "Exclusive Interview: filmmaker Samuel Van Grinsven on his seductive queer coming-of-age tale Sequin in a Blue Room". The Queer Review .
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Sequin in a Blue Room Arrives in the UK to Rave Reviews". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . 16 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Windsor, Harry (22 July 2019). "'Sequin in a Blue Room': Film Review | Outfest 2019". The Hollywood Reporter .
  6. ↑ Sobczynski, Peter (18 May 2021). "Sequin in a Blue Room movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com .
  7. ↑ Debruge, Peter (21 May 2021). "'Sequin in a Blue Room' Review: A Striking, Highly Stylized Plunge Into 21st-Century Gay Hookup Culture". Variety .
  8. ↑ Kramer, Gary M. (11 May 2021). "Review: "Sequin in a Blue Room" Highlights Gay Online Hookups". Gay City News .
  9. ↑ Ide, Wendy (11 April 2021). "Sequin in a Blue Room review – illicit thrills in gay coming-of-age story". The Guardian .
  10. ↑ Brady, Tara (9 April 2021). "Sequin in a Blue Room: LGBTQ drama casts an otherworldly spell". The Irish Times .
  11. ↑ Davidson, Alex (8 April 2021). "Sequin in a Blue Room review: a wild queer underworld". British Film Institute .
  12. ↑ Shulman, Randy (15 May 2021). "Movie Review: Sequin in a Blue Room". Metro Weekly .
  13. ↑ Maher, Kevin. "Sequin in a Blue Room review — veers from deft to daft" . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "Sequin in a Blue Room (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 30 October 2021.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.