Head On (1998)
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Head On Movie Review
Head On is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by Ana Kokkinos and starring Alex Dimitriades. It’s a difficult to watch, but heartbreaking movie.
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“I’m a whore, a dog, and a cunt.
My father’s insults make me strong.
I accept them all“
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Ari is a young man of Greek descent who is gay, but he has problems accepting his sexuality. He has sexual encounters with many different men while also dealing with drug addiction and the arguments with his traditional Greek parents. This is your regular film about the problems of accepting your own sexuality, but done in a very graphic manner.
Yes, this is not a pretty movie, not by a long shot. Melbourne as portrayed here is seedy, disgusting and dangerous while the men that the protagonist meets are gross and terrible. The movie actually depicts graphically all of the sex scenes with one masturbation sequence being shot with a full penis view. This level of realism gave the movie some honesty and urgency, but it’s not for everybody as it is a rather difficult, dark watch.
The movie gets repetitive pretty quickly as you realize that Ari won’t learn anything, and instead you are just in for his ride from bad to worse. It doesn’t help things much that the movie ended on a very nihilistic note with brutally dark dialogue. I wished that it had more of a happy ending, but the point that it makes about the dangers of not accepting your sexuality on your own terms is important as this level of destructive behavior might be even worse than society not accepting you for who you are.
Head On has a fantastic main performance and presence in the form of the impossibly good-looking, charismatic Alex Dimitriades. He is amazing and a very physical actor, which fitted the role perfectly. The movie offers a wonderful look into the Greek immigrant experience in Australia by showcasing just how patriotic they are. Everything is Greek with them – they hang out with other Greeks and listen to their own traditional music.
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The movie should have developed the supporting players more, but the film’s transgender character is very well developed and standing in stark contrast to the main guy for being actually brave and inspiring. The movie is darkly shot, which fits the very dark mood. The soundtrack is excellent with the traditional music while the direction is also pretty good.
