Drown

2015 "Get ready for a night out with the boys."
5.6| 1h33m| en
Details

Len is a Surf Lifesaving champion, a legend in the cloistered surf club just like his father. When the younger, faster, and fitter Phil arrives at the club, Len’s legendary status starts to crumble. Then Len sees Phil arriving in the company of another man. Phil is gay.

Director

Producted By

JJ Splice Films

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Matt Levett

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Ehirerapp Waste of time
Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
jackcwelch23 The most cinematic looking Australian film I've seen, considering it was dirt cheap to make that just shows the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the filmmakers to keep us engaged and not get wound up on the little things. The film is shot in an unconventional, hypnotic style similar to (good) Terence Malick films and contains moments of nightmarish surrealism. The audience is successfully implanted into Len's mind state, with his nihilistic viewpoints burrowing under our skin and confronting us with the messy, confusing playground that is life. The absurdness and harmful elements of the idea of masculinity (bullying, peer pressure, risk taking behaviour) are hurtled towards us like asteroids, like all the memorable films, it doesn't cutely slip in its message with smugness but delivers it with sledgehammer force. The film is ugly, unpleasant, and unflinching, but that is exactly the point of it so those really can't be used as complaints. If it made you sick, it has done it's job. Homophobia is not a cute issue and should never be treated as such. There are sprinkles of dark humour in it too for those who need a bit of relief, but you won't have much time to breathe, it will pull you back in before you can. If you want to challenge yourself and your viewpoints, give it a watch, make sure it's on a big screen too.
Phil C This was an emotionally dark film that is very difficult to watch due to it's provocative and confronting nature. Nonetheless, Drown is rich, compelling and very relevant in addressing an important issue in our current society. The cinematography was beautifully executed, with strategically laid out jumps to different areas in time that keeps the viewer engaged. Many of the low scores seen on this page are due to the confusing nature of the movie itself. I have to admit watching the film a second time made all the difference. Only on my second watch did I really learn to appreciate how brilliantly strategic the time line jumps were placed.A bit of background knowledge in human body language and psychology is required to fully understand and appreciate this wonderful film. Any individual who are used to overstimulated and simple movie plots would otherwise find this flick very disturbing and distasteful.The movie follows three lifeguards. The main character, Lenny, is a closeted gay man who was raised by a physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive father. His father taught him to suppress his sexuality at a young age and the only way to survive is through rage and abuse. As a result, Lenny grew up to be a bloke with low self worth. He became a raging alcoholic who is afraid of his own feelings and sexuality. Externally, he puts on a persona of a bully and an alpha male that overachieves to cover up and compensate for the void he feels within. Meat, the second lifeguard, is Lenny's emotional co-dependent best mate. Their self worth are heavily depended on the action of the other. Meat was made fun of for his oversize "member" by the other boys when he was young and Lenny was the one friend that stood up for him and told him he should be proud not ashamed. In many way, Meat was Lenny's shadow doing everything Lenny told him to do. He's there for Lenny's emotional support and to inflate Len's ego whenever it is needed.Along came Phil - a new member of the lifesaver club - who saved a little boy on his first day on duty and became an instant threat to Lenny. Phil became more and more a threat to Len's masculinity as he gradually takes over his spotlight. Not only that, Len is physically attracted to Phil, making his feelings toward Phil a mix of both admiration and hate.Although Phil has a boyfriend, you would be blind not to see that he was becoming a moth to the flame that is Lenny. He would lie to protect Len despite being bullied by him. He would turn down a romantic dinner with his boyfriend to go out with Len. There's more than enough steamy sexual tension and homo-eroticism between these two throughout the film to start a sauna. Unfortunately, despite his hot for Phil and the fact that Phil was slowly falling for him too, Lenny was unable to reconnect to his long disconnected feelings and instead his inner shame was intensified by what's going on. Lenny's shame was turned up a notch after he finds himself receiving oral from a feminine guy at the gay bar and got caught by Meat. This led to a series of unfortunate events at the beach where Len humiliates and buries Phil alive the same way his father humiliated him and how he has been burying his feelings all these years. In the midst of all the nonsense, Meat confronted Len on how he has been secretly fancying Phil and has a disturbing way of showing it. Len challenged Meat to a swim off to prove his manliness. Huge symbol here: Phil is buried in the sand on shore to be drowned by rising tide and here you have Lenny swimming towards the ocean, far far away from him. Lenny's low self worth. The threat to his image and reputation of a champion. His feelings and sexuality. These are the things Phil was a symbol of. Lenny would rather drown than face his own demons and face who he really is within. This was result of the huge impact that his upbringing and hyper-masculine environment has on him.If this film isn't rich, I don't know what is. You can call it distasteful, a disgrace, and a perverted way to depict homosexuality, etc.. In reality, Drown is a one of a kind film that makes people think. Not necessarily with our own sexuality per se, but maybe with feelings that we have long abandoned; shames and dramas in childhood that we sometimes would rather "drown" than to face. I don't know. Just a sincere thought.All in all, a lovely film it was. There's something crazy alluring about a sexy tough guy that is emotionally messed up. Maybe I can see what's in the core of people that they themselves can't see? Matt Levett not only did an incredibly convincing job as Lenny, but he's oozing sexiness which was such a treat. This is a rare gem and easily one of the best Aussie films out there, especially if you are a fan of dark visceral materials. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.
jamesatlga The movie is primarily about three lifeguards who are members of a swim club. The first lifeguard spends the entire movie consumed by a combination of seething rage, jealousy, lust, and low self worth. The second lifeguard is a co-dependent in drug abuse and is so easily influenced that he participates in the kidnapping, sexual abuse, and torture of the third lifeguard. The third lifeguard so desperately wants to be part of the group that he allows himself to be incrementally abused. At one point the third lifeguard suffers facial mutilation but even that isn't enough for him to distance himself from his abuser. The last half of the movie plays like a horror movie as you don't know who is going to be dead at the end.One good thing about this movie is that it is a cautionary tale about the effects of untreated mental illness and drug abuse.
Tom Dooley Len is top dog at his surf club; he is the winner of everything and an alpha male with attitude. His 'mates' are al macho grand standing rugger bugger types who tick all the relevant cliché boxes and expect him to do likewise. He is also a top life saver and has a penchant for Budgie smugglers. His best mate is called 'Meat' in reference to him being overly endowed in the trouser department and is a simple soul who does what Len tells him.Then new kid turns up and saves a life on his first day and then starts to steal Len's thunder. This is Phil – Jack Mathews of 'Neighbours' fame. Phil is also gay and on a drunken night out things come to a head – no pun intended. Len is jealous of and apparently both attracted and repelled by this new man. The problem is the old adage of 'in vino veritas' hangs true – but not everyone can accept their truths.Now this is just excellent; Matt Levett as Len is exceptional as the troubled sports star and brings a menace to the screen that is tempered by the fear and loathing that make up his complex character. As Quentin Crisp said 'some roughs are pretty queer and some queers are pretty rough' this can certainly be applied to Len. The use of editing is brilliant and adds to the immediacy of the whole piece. There is a constant throb of homo eroticism that intermingles with the ordinariness of what is actually happening and juxtaposes all the emotions that the players are going through.The cinematography is truly brilliant too and that is by Dean Francis who co-edited; so I hope to see more good stuff from him. Please don't get me wrong, this is a hard watch in places and is painfully visceral when it needs to be; but I really appreciate cinema that pushes the boundaries – can illicit emotion and leaves you feeling that you have seen something special – absolutely recommended.