Sebastian

It’s tender, thoughtful film-making from Finnish director Mikko Mäkelä, exploring the bond between two men separated by generations but joined by literature and love.

Sebastian gradually transforms into something more substantial when reaching towards a point about the cross-generational relaying of queer histories, but ultimately is too preoccupied with constructing a shallow character study.

With the film partly caught in this self-referentiality, it doesn’t develop much beyond a vague treatise on the cost of pseudonymous exploitation. At least the director’s identification with his lead character results in a strong performance from Mollica.

This is a film about sex work and what it means to take possession of your own story that makes others seem artificial.

With its keen, sensual eye, “Sebastian” makes its portrait of an artist as a young sex worker brim with pained authenticity about how fleeting and seemingly transactional intimacies remain rife sites of exploration for queer writers.

British character actor Jonathan Hyde is understated and dignified as the editor who gets past Max's defenses, while relative newcomer Ruaridh Mollica lets you see every chink in Max's armor just before a piece of that armor falls away.

Despite some murky character motivation, Sebastian stands as a well-made feature from Mäkelä, which explores some compelling ideas surrounding artistic creation and companionship.

It’s more interesting as a character study than a vehicle for examining the larger questions about sex work. A flawed but interesting drama, Sebastian presents a lot of modern conundrums, but performs better when focusing on humanity.

Somewhere, under the layers of trying too hard, Sebastian is a well-crafted movie about social media, sex, making art and embracing your true self. Sadly, any message gets lost in its directionless writing and lack of pace.

As a whole, Sebastian falls short of the kind of piercing insight that Max is attempting to achieve in his own writing, but the film comes alive in the later scenes he shares with an elderly client with whom he forms a profound connection.