Movies usually lie about time. They condense the messy, slow-burn reality of human connection into ninety minutes of polished highlights. But Of an Age movie does something weirdly brave with its clock. It starts in 2011, in the humid, suburban sprawl of Melbourne, Australia, and it just... sits there. It lingers. If you've ever felt the absolute, bone-deep panic of being seventeen and realizing your life is finally starting, you’ll get this film immediately.
Writer and director Goran Stolevski didn't set out to make a "period piece," even though the 2010s setting feels like a lifetime ago now. It’s a story about Kol, a Serbian immigrant and competitive ballroom dancer, and Adam, the older, slightly more world-weary brother of Kol’s dance partner. They spend a single day together. That’s it. One day that manages to carry the weight of an entire decade.
The 24-Hour Spark That Changed Everything
The plot is deceptively simple. Kol (played by Elias Anton) is stranded. His dance partner, Ebony, has woken up on a beach on the morning of their biggest competition, hungover and lost. Enter Adam (Thom Green). He’s got a car, a stack of books, and a level of self-assurance that Kol finds both terrifying and magnetic.
They drive. They talk.
Honestly, the dialogue in Of an Age movie is where the magic happens. It’s not that "movie talk" where everyone has a perfect comeback. It’s awkward. There are long silences filled with the hum of the car engine and the sound of wind through the windows. Stolevski captures that specific tension of meeting someone who actually sees you for the first time. You know that feeling? When you realize the person sitting next to you is actually listening to the subtext of your sentences? That’s the first half of this film. It’s a road movie that goes nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
Why 2011 Matters More Than You Think
Setting the first half in 2011 wasn't just a random choice. This was a specific era for queer identity, especially in suburban Australia. It was a time of transition—pre-dating the global shift toward marriage equality in many places, but past the point of total silence. For Kol, being a ballroom dancer in a tough-guy neighborhood is a minefield.
The film uses the music of the era—not just as background noise, but as a tether. When "Freefall" by Two Steps on the Water plays, it isn't just a song. It's the sound of a very specific, agonizingly beautiful moment in time. The cinematography is tight. Claustrophobic, almost. It stays on the actors' faces, catching the way Kol’s eyes dart around when Adam asks him a direct question.
🔗 Read more: A Simple Favor Blake Lively: Why Emily Nelson Is Still the Ultimate Screen Mystery
The Time Jump: Ten Years Later
Most romances end at the airport or the big dance. Of an Age movie refuses that. About halfway through, the screen goes dark, and we jump forward a decade.
It’s 2021.
Kol is no longer that shaky teenager. He’s lived. He’s traveled. He’s arguably "successful." But he returns to Melbourne for Ebony’s wedding, and he sees Adam again. This is where the movie moves from being a "coming-of-age" story into something much more complex and, frankly, a bit heartbreaking.
You see the difference in their bodies. The way they stand. The way they look at each other. It’s a masterclass in acting from Anton and Green. They have to play the ghosts of their younger selves while showing the calluses that a decade of life has built up.
A Departure From Queer Cinema Tropes
Usually, movies like this go one of two ways. Either it’s a tragedy where someone dies, or it’s a glittery fairy tale where they ride off into the sunset. Stolevski ignores both. He’s more interested in the "what if."
What if the person who changed your life was just a passing ship?
💡 You might also like: The A Wrinkle in Time Cast: Why This Massive Star Power Didn't Save the Movie
What if you meet them again and realize you’re still that same kid deep down?
There’s a specific scene at the wedding—lots of noise, lots of people—where Kol and Adam slip away to talk. The contrast between the chaotic, loud Serbian wedding and their quiet, intense conversation is striking. It highlights the "otherness" that has always defined Kol’s life. He doesn't quite fit in his family's world, and he doesn't quite fit in the polished world Adam represents. He exists in the gap between them.
The Technical Brilliance of Stolevski
Goran Stolevski is a name you should know. Before Of an Age, he did You Won't Be Alone, which was a folk-horror movie about a shapeshifting witch in 19th-century Macedonia. Talk about a pivot.
But the DNA is the same. He’s obsessed with how people communicate when they don’t have the words. In Of an Age movie, he uses the 1:33:1 aspect ratio (that square-ish look) for the first half to mimic the feeling of being trapped in a small town. When the movie opens up later, the frame changes. It’s subtle. Most people won't consciously notice it, but they’ll feel it.
The sound design is equally intentional. The rustle of a silk shirt, the clinking of glasses, the heavy breathing during a dance sequence—it’s all hyper-real. It makes the experience feel tactile.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
People want closure. We’re trained by Netflix and Disney to expect a bow on top.
📖 Related: Cuba Gooding Jr OJ: Why the Performance Everyone Hated Was Actually Genius
The ending of Of an Age movie is divisive because it’s honest. It acknowledges that sometimes, the most important person in your life is someone you can't stay with. That’s a tough pill to swallow. Some critics called it "unsatisfying," but I think they’re missing the point. The film isn't about a relationship; it’s about an awakening.
Adam was the catalyst. He was the one who showed Kol that a different kind of life was possible. Whether they end up together is secondary to the fact that Kol became the man he is because of that one car ride in 2011.
Real-World Impact and Reception
The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and won the $100,000 CinefestOZ prize, the richest film prize in Australia. That’s a big deal for a small, character-driven indie.
- Rotten Tomatoes: It holds a high critical score, often praised for its "aching" intimacy.
- Cultural Context: It’s been compared to Call Me By Your Name and Weekend, but it feels grittier. It’s less about the beauty of Italy and more about the grey tarmac of the outer suburbs.
- Performance: Elias Anton’s transformation is the soul of the film. He goes from a stuttering boy to a confident man with such nuance that you’d swear they filmed it ten years apart.
How to Truly Experience This Movie
Don't watch this on a phone while you're scrolling. You'll miss the micro-expressions. You'll miss the way the light hits the dust in Adam’s car.
Watch for the hands. Stolevski focuses on hands a lot—gripping a steering wheel, hovering near a shoulder, trembling before a dance. It’s where the real story is told.
If you’re looking for a film that captures the specific ache of being young and the weirdly beautiful disappointment of growing up, this is it. It’s a movie that stays in your head for days, making you wonder about the "Adams" in your own life—the people who showed up for twenty-four hours and changed your trajectory forever.
Actionable Takeaways for Film Lovers
If the themes in Of an Age movie resonated with you, there are a few things you should do to deepen your appreciation for this style of "intimate realism" in cinema:
- Explore the "Single Day" Sub-genre: Watch Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise. It’s the spiritual ancestor to the first half of this film. Compare how Linklater uses Vienna to how Stolevski uses the Australian suburbs.
- Research 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio: Look up other films that use this "Academy Ratio" (like The Lighthouse or Fish Tank). See how it forces your eyes to focus on the characters' faces rather than the landscape.
- Listen to the Soundtrack: Find the official playlist. Stolevski curated it to reflect the specific "indie-sleaze" and dance crossover of the early 2010s. It’s a time capsule.
- Watch Stolevski’s Other Work: See You Won't Be Alone. It’s wildly different in genre but will help you see his recurring theme of "the outsider looking in."
- Reflect on Your Own "Age": Think about a 24-hour period in your life that felt monumental. What were the sensory details? The movie works because it triggers those specific, tactile memories in the viewer.
Of an Age movie is a rare piece of work that understands that nostalgia isn't just about looking back with a smile—it’s about the pain of realizing you can never go back to being the person you were before you met that one specific stranger. It’s a quiet, loud, messy masterpiece.