Sebastian Film Review: Promises That Don’t Deliver

Sebastian, when not focusing on its romantic relationship and its healing softness, suffers and leaves the audience feeling cold.

Sebastian, from director Mikko Mäkelä, tells the story of a young and successful writer, Max (Ruaridh Mollica), trying to make a leap into becoming a novelist. He has already won an award for a short story and been tasked with interviewing famous novelist Bret Easton Ellis. Complicating this, he is writing his first novel, focusing on sex workers. To provide fodder for this novel, Max is living a double life as a male escort, going by the name of Sebastian. As we follow this dual story, Mäkelä (who also wrote the screenplay) manages to deftly bounce back and forth. Mollica is quite adept at playing a blank slate, until he is affected emotionally. He forces us to remember that there is always emotion roiling beneath the surface of even the most placid of presentations. 

Despite being well filmed and clearly not shy about showing sexuality on screen, Sebastian attempts to strike the right tone and pace. Much like Max’s novel, the film struggles to find its center. When the movie strays from sex worker abuse and shoddy literary agents, it finally finds a story worth telling. As we are introduced to Nicholas (Jonathan Hyde), a calm comes over the proceedings. Nicholas, an older Gay man, seems to hire Max more for companionship than actual sex.  Interestingly, Max has an anxious reaction to this new level of intimacy. It is clear that, despite not knowing his real name, Nicholas sees through Max’s charade. He is not a jaded sex worker who has seen it all. He may be able to mostly play the part, but he is hurting inside and scared that he cannot measure up in terms of talent and success.

The relationship with this much older man on screen manages a few impressive things. It never comes off as creepy, and also provides Max with a mentor, both as a writer and in life. Max’s interactions with his friend Amna (Hiftu Quasem), another burgeoning writer, threaten to color him as completely selfish. She always seems to be there to help him, but, despite his best intentions, he consistently fails her. The softness of Nicholas shows Max that he can both be himself and be there for other people. For Gay men of a certain age, there is a loss and a grief that many young queer folks have not felt. Max’s willingness to listen to, and spend time with, Nicholas changes him for the better. 

Sadly, any time the film veers from this relationship, it truly suffers. The sex scenes, while well-filmed, end up coming off a bit repetitive and stale because Max is playing a role. This role lacks depth and leaves the audience feeling disconnected. It could be argued that this is purposeful, as the end goal of the film is for Sebastian to eventually disappear and for Max to take center stage, but the journey there is important and sorely lacking, save for the scenes mentioned. Max’s seeming expectations of being handed a book advance, a successful career, and interview with the best in the industry can leave us feeling cold to him, as well. 

Despite many solid moments and compelling character work, the ending line of dialogue in this film is one of the worst in recent memory. It is a shame because this could have ended in any number of ways that would have been much more satisfying. Instead, it seems that Mikko Mäkelä did not trust his audience to understand the two hour trip that he took us on. Endings are hard, but a truly bad one, such as this, certainly leaves a sour taste that is hard to shake. 

Sebastian is a movie with a lot of promise that seems to focus on the wrong moments. There is an excellent short film hidden within the confines of a wandering narrative. However, the performances and the small moments are good enough to carry it to a mostly positive experience. 

Sebastian is now available to watch on digital and home video in the US and select countries. In the UK, the film was screened at the BFI London Film Festival on October 15, 2024.