Head On (1998)

Director: Anna Kokkinos

Starring: Alex Dimitriades, Paul Capsis, Julian Garner, Tony Nikolakopoulos

Primary genre: Drama

Based on the book by Christos Chiolkas “Loaded” (1995), the film of Anna Kokkinos attempts to highlight the first generation and non-straight experience in the late 90s Melbourne. However, “Head on” is a mess of a movie plagued by its constant handwaving about every social issue you can think of: police brutality, ethnical discrimination, racial tensions, unemployment, drug and alcohol use, homosexuality, tough upbringing, and the assimilation of immigrants in modern Australia! It throws everything on the wall and sees what it sticks really much to the disappointment of an audience searching for a character or a story to relate with.

This tale is less about Ari’s closeted experiences and more about his self-hating behaviour, yet at no point in time, the script gives us any information or hints as to why. What could have been a meticulous exploration of someone’s identity clashing with traditional(?) family and community values becomes quickly an excuse to present (mostly) gay oral sex scenes that bear a “Showgirls” (1995) quality to them. Considering how Wong Kar-wai shook the cinematic landscape in “Happy Together” (1997) depicting a troubled relationship between two gay Chinese immigrants in Argentina(!) a year earlier, “Head On” looks like a cheap school project in comparison.

Its dated videoclip inspired aesthetic renders it a poor cousin of Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” (1996) which clearly served as the film’s inspiration for its unique visual style but Melbourne is not Glasgow and its characters had all well defined arcs and traits. Kokkinos uses hyper-saturated and dogmatic cinematography that would make Von Trier proud, fade outs, handheld camera shots and an ever present (and irritating) hybrid soundtrack of electronic, Greek folk and alt-rock songs to capture our attention, yet the effect is the polar opposite of the desirable one.

Alex Dimitriades should be commented for immersing himself into a role featuring full frontal nudity - a rarity for a straight actor - and lots of simulated sex but the lack of depth in the proceedings paints his lead as an individual who will earn no sympathy from our part. Aris treats everyone with disrespect and “Head On” justifies these acts through a self-destructive path of superficial relationships, drug and alcohol abuse and sexual deviant behaviour. You could assume we would get some insights about Ari’s lifestyle choices through his social circle to understand what makes him tick as a person but Kokkinos’ script does not seem keen to dig into this aspect. Even the most interesting element - Ari’s friendship with a trans cousin - is stated but not even remotely examined in a plot already crumbling under numerous social threads that do not come together at the end.

The acting is also raw in places; while the older cast handle the Greek dialogical segments ok, the younger members struggle to deliver authentically their lines (filled with terrible mispronunciation and grammatical mistakes) during their emotional outbursts. The only stand out is Paul Capsis as a transwoman who brings real vulnerability in a complex-on-paper character although his lack of arc does not affect the protagonist’s journey any way whatsoever.

“Head On” enforces the very dated stereotypes it tries to tackle. It might have been explosive during its release in a time when society was not willing to highlight let alone discuss issues around someone’s sexual orientation, but time has not been kind to it. The “edgy” direction and uncompromising subject matter are not enough to hide the lack of a compelling lead, the subpar acting and amateur approach to the source material.

Shallow and provoking exploration of sexuality

+Dimitriades’s dedication

+Paul Capsis’ role

+Subject matter

-OTT sex scenes

-Dated aesthetic

-Irritating soundtrack

-Unlikeable protagonist

-Superficial handwaving