BOYS IN THE TREES
Australia, 2016, 112 minutes, Colour.
Toby Wallace, Gulliver Mc Grath, Mitzi Ruhlmann, Justin Holborow.
Directed by Nicholas Verso.
The setting is 1997. It is Halloween.
This story of teenagers in the Australian suburbs becomes more impressive as it unfolds. At first, it looks like a typical enough presentation of youngsters, quite an amount of skateboarding, some showing off, a particularly unpleasant episode of bullying, and young males mouthing off in obnoxious ways. The males then all get dressed up in Halloween costumes, many as predatory animals with comments akin – and it is surprising, in retrospect, to see such elaborate details of Halloween behaviour at that time.
But soon the film becomes much more introspective. The central character is Corey, who literally runs with the pack, but who separates himself off at times because of his skill with his camera, intending to go to New York with a scholarship to continue photography courses, despite the objections of his father. The victim of the bullying is Jonah, looking younger, short in height, a skateboarder but obviously used to being pushed around and humiliated. Corey takes his photo and later, Jango, the dominating leader of the pack, photocopies the photo and places it prominently in the streets and in the parks.
Corey is challenged by Romany, who also wants to get out of the place, allows herself to be partly trapped with the group but goes off to work on a late shift. As Corey wanders off from the group, he encounters Jonah at the skateboard rink. Jonah falls and hurts his head, a possible concussion, and asks Corey to walk home with him as something of an apology.
And here the film moves from Corey’s introspection to a mysterious world of imagination and fantasy, combining it with the realism of the walk home, the Halloween behaviour, Corey going to see Romany at the shop, Jango leading his troop making a mess of the shop, and Corey clashing with Jango and separating off, still accompanying Jonah.
It emerges that the two boys have a past friendship but that Corey betrayed Jonah and abandoned him. To relive something of the past, going back into their memories, of Jonah’s mother dying – and their encounter of Hispanic group in a local costume commemorating a death and singing plaintively, a little girl who emerges from a huge open drain exit and a mysterious man dressed in white.
The boys are particularly convincing, Toby Wallace emerging from being a child actor as Corey; Gulliver McGrath? who has worked for Steven Spielberg in Lincoln and Martin Scorsese in Hugo, bringing quite some vulnerability to Jonah; and Justin Holobrow completely believable as the pier-pressuring Jango. Mitzi Ruhlmann is Romany.
The film was made in Adelaide by former DJ, Nicholas Verso, who has also made a number of short films. This film should be more than a calling card for his career as a director. Early in the year, another film came from Adelaide, Girl Asleep. This was also the story of teenagers, this time set in the 70s, focusing on a teenage girl blending the realism of her school and family story with quite an excursion into a world of fantasy. The two films could be seen as striking companion pieces.
Boys in the Trees (who seem to have their head in the trees, refusing to grow up, then literally climbing trees with the potential for a fall) could be a challenge to its target audience but also makes quite an impact on an older audience.
1. Memories of the 1990s about Australian teenagers in growing up? Universal appeal?
2. Adelaide, the suburbs, the streets and homes, the skate board rink, parks, the shop? The sense of realism? The musical score?
3. The insertion of fantasy, gradual throughout the film? Jonah and his death, his appearance, Corey’s experience, the entrance to the drain and the story of the girl, the man in white, the ghosts and shadows, the Hispanic memorial of the dead?
4. The title, Romany at explanation, the boys with their heads in the trees, growing up, not growing up, climbing and falling?
5. The initial atmosphere, the skateboard, the group, the piers and the peer pressure, their skills, Jango and his leadership, manner of talking, his bullying Jonah? Corey is part of the group, the talk, the laughter, the peer pressure on him? Is taking photographs, his skills? Taking the photo of Jonah, Jango copying it and putting it up around the suburbs?
6. The shift in the film to introspection, Corey, going home, the interactions with his father, the absent mother, his being bored, irritated by his father, his photos, his dark room, the information from New York? Jango arriving, Jango focused only on the present, Corey throwing the application in the rubbish? Is later beginning to fill it out?
7. Halloween, the atmosphere, celebrated in Australia in 1997 like this? Costumes, trick or treat, the first turning of the paper, the lights? The atmosphere? Death, Demons?
8. Corey, the pack, the Wolf disguises, predatory? Jango and his philosophy, living in the present, attitude towards women, language about them, sexuality? Corey and his separating off, the talk with Romany, her wanting to move out, the challenge to him?
9. Jonah, the photo, is skateboard, his drinking at the weird, smashing the bottle, the water – and the later revelation of his death? Corey seeing him skating, the only make up, his four, head, the wound and blood, Corey checking his breathing and Jonah tricking him? Wanting an apology from Corey? It in him to accompany him home?
10. The remembering, the flashbacks, the boys together, play, the gradual insertion and amplification of the story? The attack on Jonah, Corey breaking with him, abandoning him? The St at school, the boys, the criticism, the bullying? Corey asking Romany if she had ever done such a thing?
11. The night, the talk, Corey and his fears, Jonah testing him? Corey exposed, Jonah and his wise insights? Going to the shop, Jonah looking in, Corey talking with Romany, sharing ambitions and hopes? Jango in the group arriving, trashing everything? Corey leaving his camera, leaving the group, breaking off with Jango?
12. Going to Romany’s house, the work, coming home, the touches of Romeo and Juliet, the young lovers, the balcony, kissing, the sexual encounter, sharing their experiences? The future?
13. The fantasy, the open drain, the story of the girl inside, Corey and his fears, going into the drain and finding Jonah? The Hispanic memory of the dead? Jonas photo there? The appearances of the main in quite? Come from the drain, the at the momentum of the dead, accompanying Jonah?
14. Coring Jonah, the possibilities for reconciliation?
15. Corey discovering Jonah did, his grief, calling his father, waiting for him? Staying with the body, promising his father to go fishing with him, the reconciliation? Jango coming, the two embracing, Corey is weeping, Jango’s patience – and the group looking on surprised?
16. The later Halloween, the Skype contact, Romany and her acting career in Canada, seeing the snow, Corey putting on his costume, his job, the range of masks and the memories of Jonah?
