This coming-of-age story is such a universal and yet unique story at the same time, that it’s both widely relatable and yet also such a personal story. “Of an Age” gives us a window into the story of Kol, (Elias Anton) a recent high school graduate and amateur dancer, who experiences his first intense romantic, sexual awakening in the space of 24 hours with his friend Ebony’s (Hattie Hook) older brother Adam (Thom Green).

On the day of an important dance recital with his best friend Ebony, Kol gets a call from Ebony who had gone on a bender the previous night and ended up stranded, needing his help to get home and get to their performance. Kol embarks on a road trip with Adam to get Ebony, where they get to know each other a little, become entranced with one another and that changes the course of Kol’s life as he accepts who he is. The movie perfectly captures the beauty, innocence and aching that comes with a first love/kiss/romantic encounter, whatever we may want to call it. Not many people will believe that you can fall in love with someone in an afternoon, but these connections, whatever they are, oftentimes transcend whatever we might want to call it and their impact lasts a lifetime.

On their road trip to pick up Ebony, Kol and Adam connect; at that point, Kol being oblivious to the fact that Adam is gay. Adam probably just assumes he was gay and immediately feels a kinship towards him. The movie is set in 1999, when views on homosexuality were obviously not as open as they are now, for immigrants who face more pressure, not only from their own self, but from their peers and extended family. Kol and Adam connect from their love of literature, music, and their chemistry is palpable. Even before any romantic attraction is exhibited, this may be a testament to the actors’ chemistry. The cinematographer shoots the characters in such intimate and close frames, which immerses the audience into the world where it’s just Kol and Adam. The raw tension between the characters makes this movie, it isn’t a nervous tension, but the type of tension that pulls you in and you want to explore and experience what is in stall. We are on this journey of discovery and intrigue with Kol and despite the slow pace of the movie; you are in for the journey once you become immersed in it.

While on the road trip, Adam tells Kol that the collection of tapes he has belongs to an ex, and throughout the journey Kol believes this ex is female, until Adam tells him they belong to a guy and it dawns on Kol that Adam is gay. Kol becomes somewhat withdrawn upon hearing this, as if a mirror has been placed before him and he isn’t quite ready to look into it and see himself, and yet knows that he has to look and he has to see. Luckily for us, Kol isn’t actually self-hating, and he comes to terms with his attraction to Adam. In every queer person’s life they have had this encounter, you have a mild crush on someone thinking that they are straight. Then you find out they aren’t straight and it opens up the possibility that they may reciprocate your feelings, but at the same time, the fact that they can reject you not because they are straight but because they aren’t attracted to you. I believe that this is what makes Kol withdraw from Adam when he finds out that he is gay. A fear of rejection. It also doesn’t help that Adam is flying away the next day and there are no hopes of any proper relationship forming between the two. After “gate-crushing” a party, where Ebony leaves Kol stranded, he meets up with Adam and they take a ride, where the two connect, and Kol experiences his first sexual encounter (with a man), knowing that Adam was leaving the next day; yet being in the moment and experiencing it for what it was. There is a lot of controversy generally when it comes to age-gaps in same-sex relationships, however, a lot of young gay people have their first encounters with experienced people because most of the time their peers are not out and the older, experienced people are more open to free to provide the experience. This is neither good nor bad, it’s just a matter of fact. More often than not, these encounters mean more to one of the two, and not the other.

Despite their age difference, Adam and Kol have an understanding from their first encounter and for Kol, this encounter means so much to him. It feels magical, and he feels like the luckiest boy in the world having to experience this kind of connection, against all odds. Even as an adult, he carries that day, and asks Adam at their reunion at Ebony’s wedding that “What other boy in Watsonia got to experience this feeling?”. And the truth really is every other boy and girl in Watsonia experienced this feeling in their own special way that will always belong to them alone, that makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. “How lucky”, Kol says, about having felt that feeling, a high he now knows he can never experience again. The epilogue of the movie, when Adam and Kol sit and cry, with Kol bearing his soul to Adam, who is now married, and concludes with the two cuddling, is such a bittersweet ending for the two. The relationship between Kol and Adam was everything, but it also wasn’t really anything. Both of them had to live their lives and couldn’t let one passionate afternoon control their lives in any drastic way.

“Of an Age” is a beautiful, aching, bittersweet story that feels both personal and also evokes so much empathy because of how universal such a story is. It transcends sexuality or gender and is relatable to anyone who has experienced their first love as an all-consuming moment, the high of which they will never get again no matter how much they chase it. A solid 9/10 movie. I wish more people would see it.

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- Amazon Prime