Boys in the Trees is a film that was recommended to me by several members of a movie group I belong to on Facebook. It was one I had never heard of personally, but has been slowly building a following after appearing on Netflix. The film is a unique blend of coming of age drama with an almost fable-esque supernatural under-current that makes it one of the more unique and memorable films I've seen in recent memory.
Corey (played by Toby Wallace) is getting close to finishing school and is at a crossroads of sorts, wanting to go to college in New York to study photography despite the disapproval of his father and his school friends, an obnoxious bunch of boys, led by Jango (played by Justin Holborow). Jango delights in bullying other kids, especially Jonah (played by Gulliver McGrath), a loner classmate of theirs. Jonah and Corey used to be close friends when they were younger, sharing a childhood game together, but their friendship became understandably estranged when Corey started hanging out with the popular kids. As a result, the lone voice of reason in his life is Romany (played by Mitzi Ruhlmann), who encourages him to break free from the pack of friends he runs with as he's not like them and go to New York, using her own ambitions to study in Toronto to encourage him. As he walks home from partying with his friends, Corey comes upon Jonah in the local skate park alone, skating on his skateboard. When Jonah falls and hits his head, he asks Corey to help him get home and tells him he wants to show them something. Corey begrudgingly agrees as the two set off. As they journey through the neighborhoods, Jonah shares a couple of ghost stories with Corey, based around very real fears the two share as high school comes to a close and adult life looms large. As they slowly make their journey home, the two begin to repair their broken bonds as their past begins to blend with their present. Yet, something vaguely ominous about the night begins to grow, as the secrets that drove the two friends apart are revisited.
The film was written and directed by Nicholas Verso who manages to combine coming of age drama, gothic horror themes, and and surreal imagery into an intoxicating Halloween themed treat. I'm using the term horror fairly loosely here because the main part of the film is focused on the two friends with the more gothic horror elements used for more symbolic purposes, such as the use of werewolves for a metaphor for Corey growing up and changing, throwing in with the popular kids who tormented the likes of Jonah, who as he puts it "didn't change." All of this is carefully employed by Verso and his crew, giving the film an unexpected poignancy. Each tale that Jonah regales upon Corey has secret meanings that tie directly into their current lives, which becomes abundantly clear as the film moves forward. He also uses heavily stylized imagery to the film with interesting shot choices and artful use of slow motion which only adds to the film, especially as Corey and Jonah find themselves at a Dia De Muertos celebration late in the film. The film was shot and is set in suburban Australia, which also adds a unique flavor to the film as well, as climate wise this film is very different from the usual Halloween fare as it would be Spring there whereas it is fall in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, Romany remarks are one point that she "hears it snows on Halloween in some parts of the world." I have been informed directly by Nicholas Verso via Twitter that line got a hearty laugh when the film played in Toronto and Minnesota.
The performances in the film are quite good, especially by the two lead actors. Toby Wallace does a great job depicting his character's unease and inner conflict. He runs with the popular kids, the wolves as Jonah refers to them, but yet doesn't really feel a part of them. Over the course of the night, he comes to realize what he has allowed himself to become and tries to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life as he revisits his childhood games with Jonah one last time over the course of one magical night. Gulliver McGrath is compelling as Jonah, earning sympathy as a bullied kid, but also shows a little mystery to his character as he takes Corey on a tour of sorts through their past together. Mitzi Ruhlmann has a nice turn as Corey's potential love interest in Romany, who not only doesn't take crap from him but challenges his perceptions of not only the true meaning of Halloween, but himself as well. Justin Holborow is suitably obnoxious and nasty as the bullying Jango, who finds his own cruelty amusing, making the audience wonder why Corey would even think of hanging out with him, a question Corey himself starts asking himself as the film goes on.
Boys in the Trees is a film that straddles many different genres, using elements of each to tell a unique and moving story about two childhood friends reconnecting on one special Halloween night before they enter adulthood. It's not a movie that is outright scary, but at the same time had certain creepy vibe to it and paired remarkably well with it's deeply emotional story that made the film really stick with me for a few days after viewing it. Its a beautiful and unique film well worth checking out for anyone looking for something a little different this Halloween season. It's currently available on Netflix for those who are curious.
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