Beach Rats opens this Friday, September 8th at SIFF Cinema Egyptian. This award-winning Sundance hit is a powerful character study that is as visually stunning as it is evocative. Director and writer, Eliza Hittman is genius. The story is one that a lot of us can relate with over the years. Coming out, leading a double life, confusion, frustration and chaos are all seen here in spades. Did you make all the right choices in your youth and young adult life? Did you hurt anyone emotionally or even physically? Were you hurt? Was your path clear? Was it easy?
Frankie, played by Harris Dickinson, is spectacular in his role. He delivers petulance, arrogance and confusion all with the arch of a brow. Set in the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie is struggling. He is a good looking kid with all of the adventures and pitfalls that can deliver. He is also in the closet, leading a double life, dealing with a terminally ill family member and hanging out with the wrong crowd.
During his escapades of picking up men online and hanging out with his delinquent band of friends he attracts the eye of a young woman. Simone, played by Madeline Weinstein, is beautiful, headstrong and a little naughty. She catches Frankie’s eye and even leads him to bed. You can only imagine how that goes. Desperate to stay in the closet, Frankie is led pretty easily but it really doesn’t stick.
The ever-present delinquent crew think Frankie should keep them in drugs and fun. None of them seem to have jobs or even prospects. They don’t appear to care. Frankie tries to introduce them to different pieces of himself but that doesn’t go well either.
Synopsis:
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men. When his chatting and webcamming intensify, he begins meeting men at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences. Eliza Hittman’s award-winning Sundance hit is a powerful character study that is as visually stunning as it is evocative.
Beach Rats Opens this Friday, September 8th at SIFF Cinema Egyptian. Get tickets here.
