Very good film on growing up gay in small rural maritime town. I especially liked the nuance of having the mother who leaves the family at a young age, and the fallout that can cause.
Great leading performance and some strong supporting ones as well. Loved his best friend, Gemma, played by Sofia Banzhaf, who of course the father assumes is his girlfriend. That relationship was a real highlight. I'm not sure if giving the hamster the voice of Isabella Rossellini was an attempt to go full-blown Cronenberg or what but the comedic breaks were nice.
One major beef is that this movie is set in a small Newfoundland town but everyone has Ontario accents, that's pretty off-putting.
In the end it was a movie I really enjoyed watching a ton and felt good during the viewing, but afterwards the more I thought about it, the more it was maybe not that special. At the same time, i can't imagine anyone other that West Baptist Church followers not liking this movie.
Heart rating: 5 stars
Brain rating: 3.5 stars