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Head
On
(2000) |
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Ari is a bundle of confusion and energy driven by the angst within. He is a 19 year old Greek Australian who is facing a burning struggle within himself to come to terms with fitting in, with finding his own niche in a world that appears to have no place for him. That he is a young, jobless, angry, mixed up immigrant kid on the streets of Melbourne makes him one of several such aimless drifters but his confused sexual orientation further alienates him.
Ari is strikingly good looking - girls turn around to have a second glance because of his dark, brooding features yet however much he tries to be "normal" and do those things that normal people would, he find himself fighting his nature. Ari is constantly arguing and bickering with his ultra Greek parents who are continuously hearkening back to the good old "revolutionary" days - they arrived in Australia as one of a flood of refugee families who had fled Greece in search for a better life and more tolerance. Here in Melbourne the revolution that never happened is discussed endlessly, flogging the dead horse over endless cups of Greek coffee in Greek taverna's in the suburbs of Little Athens, Melbourne. Ari flirts with coming out of his repressive closet and jokes about sexuality and his choice of friends yet despite opening the closet door just a crack, he has yet to take a step out of it and his repression is another of the myriad of emotions clashing with all the others in his mind. Ari's sexual encounters are his one form escape even though they are cold, faceless encounters often in the dimly lit back alleys of club-land in seedy Melbourne. Ari reaches out for any sort of comfort and solace or any suggestion of direction in his life - reaching out for anonymous sex or drugs for the release from his repressive reality. He spends the entire film running from himself and by the end of it, despite the trauma's he has to face with his cross dressing friend Toula (played quite excellently by Paul Capsis) at the local police station he emerges the same bundle of confusion while Toula who is beaten to a pulp at least knows who she is and what she/he wants.
When the film winds down, Ari is back where he started, searching out the anonymous encounters and running from himself, from his confused thoughts, from his anger and from facing any sort of future. He is running because he just can't fit in and he can't come to terms with his own thoughts and sexuality. The film is a very Greek affair with the director Ana Kokkinos (Greek) and the cast and indeed the subject matter all focussing on an aspect of Greek immigrant life in Melbourne - the confusion and isolation of growing up different within this tightly knit community and having to face the prospect of dashing all those wonderful hopes of your parents, shattering all their illusions because of what you really are - gay. Alex Dimitriades as Ari is sensational. Apparently "just" another soap star in Australia this young actor has turned in a dynamite performance that should have him noticed, but for the fact that mainstream audiences might never see this film at all. Dimitriades is handsome (a young Mel Gibson) with his brooding dark looks and like Vin Diesel of Pitch Black is just waiting to be discovered and be turned into a major star. In Head On, Dimitriades is simply fantastic and portrays a million emotions - and comes across as totally convincing and honest in his role as the hot headed bunch of confusion, Ari. Ana Kokkinos has directed with an assured touch and is able to inject vitality to proceedings and she does so with considerable visual style. She has also been able to capture the whole Greek thing very well, right from the opening scenes of the wedding celebrations to the use of the archived footage which is cleverly interwoven into the story. Most of all she has been able to induce some superb performances all around, not only from the stunning anti hero Alex Dimitriades but from the majority of the supporting cast as well. Head On may not be every one's cup of tea due to the sexual content within but it's a raw, honest, vibrant and superbly acted film on some of the aspects of growing up in an atmosphere where the burden of expectations are enormous and not living up to them equally shattering. Head On is a triumph all around and yet another reminder that all is not lost yet when young independent film makers are able to create such work of crackling energy and stunning visual style not to mention brutal honesty. It may not quite be the Australian Trainspotting but it comes across as a similarly uninhibited and honest portrayal of disenchanted, confused youth. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Heath Ledger and the new league of pretty boys ought to watch out because Alex Dimitriades is just waiting to happen - the big time needs to discover him NOW.
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