Sebastian: It’s all filth underneath

I went into Act Two thinking I knew what I was watching, only to be swept into the most hyper-meta, beautiful, and touching story that hit me a little too close to home, personally. An absolute masterpiece.

However—this film speaks to All of Us Strangers in a way that makes me want to double over with grief. This is a story about shame, no longer contained by homophobia or lack of acceptance, but a profound lack of self-expression, mired by the protagonist’s fraught yet peaceful relationship with his mother. I don’t know how to explain it, but this is a film that could only be made today, and the dynamic being explored could only exist now—this idea of the final taboo being want.

Max, Sebastian, Max— is constantly navigating, yes, a sex-negative world, a world still fascinated by sex, but also trying to steer the boat of his own appetites. There is nowhere on earth you can go where the concept of want, the concept of wanting—perhaps more than the world says you ought to—won’t get you punished.

So, on the surface, this is a film about sex work and its trials. Maybe after you dust off the top (ba dum tish), you start to uncover the deeper layers: the social isolation of being a sex-positive gay man, and how that disconnects you from the real world, trapping you in a little glass box.

But somehow, I feel the final message was even more profound—a story about a man coming to terms with wanting. Trying to reckon with his unique appetites, no more monstrous than those of the average person, yet stifled by that latent shame known to all of us who live on earth. Bound by the secret contract of nonchalance, restraint, and discipline. Someone who just wants to vibe in a world of rules.

Max, I love you. Reader—this may end up on my end-of-year list.