Mikko Makela’s Sebastian is a warm-hearted investigation of the double life of a male sex worker.
Max is a mid-20 aspiring writer with a published short story to his name and lots of promise in the literary world.
But his secret life – as a sex worker – not only supplies material for his upcoming novel, but also threatens his career almost before it’s begun.
Ruaridh Mollica is a slim, handsome boy-next-door as Max; his soft-spoken Scottish accent a delight to hear as his gym-ready body is pleasing to look at.
In the daytime he is tussling to get recognition as a queer freelance reporter at Wall magazine. By night – often late at night – he is taking bookings on the sex app Dreamy Boys as Sebastian.
The dynamics of the sex app world means his clients are all elderly gentlemen, and from the explicit nature of the sex scenes, he’s extremely good at what he does.
His novel, he explains to his publishing colleagues, is based on research and interviews with sex workers. In reality his method of working is to immediately follow his sex work with a detailed description in his draft novel – only changing the clients’ names.
It’s all going smoothly until he falls into jeopardy by missing work meetings and deadlines, and eventually being terminated.
But fascinating diversion comes when Sebastian meets retired professor of literature Nicholas – played with moving understatement by veteran actor Jonathan Hyde.
Newly bereaved after 29 years with his male partner, Nicholas is initially just up for talking, but as their weekly relationship develops, Sebastian is keen and able to satisfy Nicholas’ sexual needs.
A bigger jeopardy comes when aggressive, hypocrite businessman Daniel (Ingvar Sigurosson), finds his graphic encounter is in Max’s novel. He throws the young man out into the street in Brussels without his wallet.
As Max ponders how to get home, he encounters a young man in a gay bar – only to find the guy is also a digital hustler and wants money – the biter has been bitten.
Nicholas of course rescues him and as the film ends, Max is about to do a Q & A about Sebastian, the book, at Foyles bookshop no less.
He tells the interviewer: “You can ask me anything.” But I wonder if he will really fess up to his double life.
If you know the entertainment business, you know that there are creative people – dancers, writers, cabaret performers, who have augmented their unreliable incomes with paid sex work. So the hustler with creative talents is not that rare, but what I think Makela is trying to portray is a world of deceit, lies and personal gratification alongside the need for cash.
It’s a good attempt but ultimately like the sexual activities it regularly portrays, the story fails to fully satisfy.
Sebastian is distributed by Peccadillo Pictures.
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