directed by:
Charlie Norton written by: Charlie Norton genre: Drama |
Watching this crew of kids jump off a bridge into the water below - and the subsequent conversation to follow as they drove off into the summer day ahead - was like looking back in the rearview mirror to see a reflection of my teenage years. “The Lost Weekend” is one of those coming-of-age films that dive into everything from sexuality to drugs as young James tries to figure out what life is all about. The twist you’ll find driving the main plot of this particular short film, written and directed by Charlie Norton, is centered around whether or not James likes girls - while taking a closer look at what we’ve come to know as toxic masculinity. With Nick being the alpha male, consistently reminding us all that women are nothing but “bitches” and pieces of ass from his point of view, it’s fairly impossible not to grasp what Norton is looking to bring awareness to within “The Lost Weekend.” Ultimately, it’s a progressive film, and dare I say – WOKE…you know, that term the right-wing fears more than anything.
Growing up in any era is going to have its own unique challenges, but “The Lost Weekend” does a solid job of showing us what’s tough about surviving your youth in the current one while highlighting the challenges & confusion that present itself along the way. What makes things even tougher - is whether or not you have the strength to remove yourself from potentially harmful situations in life; for myself personally, there’s no possible way that I’d be friends with a guy like Nick. The dude’s an asshole, and there’s really no other way to describe him…he’s intentionally aggravating, confrontational, and as insecure as alphas typically are. For my generation – X – the response is simple - we leave that shit behind and move on to something we’d actually enjoy doing rather than try to find a way to hang out with some self-aggrandized loser, but “The Lost Weekend” is a reminder that it’s not so easy for everyone to do that. The new generation seems content to try and force situations and people to be together, which I’ll admit is something I don’t understand at all, but that doesn’t make it any less of a thing. It’s real, and it is what it is, as crazy as it might seem to many of us. So you get more sensitive guys like James trying to find some level of friendship with Nick - because that’s what’s actually real in today’s world. It doesn’t make much sense to try and bang the square peg through the round hole to me, but whatever you wanna prioritize in life, you have the ability to choose. I look at a man like James and a douche like Nick and can’t for the life of me understand why either would waste a second of their time on the other when they’re so impossibly different & there’s no chance that’ll ever change. So, from my point of view, as “The Lost Weekend” progresses, it simply comes to its logical conclusion. It’s a very realistic slice of life and what it’s like to grow up. James is played with a really stellar performance from Brendan Egan that gets to the heart of the character’s complexities, and to be fair, Henry Lynch plays Nick with rival strength and a natural ability to slide right into the bully’s character with such ease that it’s really kind of scary. You’ve met both of these characters in some way, shape, or form throughout your life, and we know that, ultimately, they go together like oil and water, yet we always find them paired just like the metaphor. Caroline (Chloe Lang) also gets important screen time and serves as a major plot twist towards the end, essentially becoming the catalyst for James to either grow up or remain in the shadows. The question becomes whether or not he’s got the courage to rise up against the perceived strongman personality of Nick, even though we, as the audience, know that behind every BIG MAN is usually a very small boy.
What I like about “The Lost Weekend” is that we never really stop rooting for James to make the right decisions, not only for himself - but so that we can have a little bit of our faith in humanity restored. So that we can believe in the notion that life ain’t only about f***ing bitches and gettin’ money, you dig? We kind of need James to find his way onscreen in this film so that we can feel good about ourselves, too, in a strange way…we want him to succeed so that we can confirm society, in general, hasn’t failed. If you’ve ever had to stand up to the bully in your own life, though, you know it’s never going to be an easy task, but the human spirit is built for resilience. While it’s fair to say that “The Lost Weekend” is a new version of an old concept we’ve seen in many different forms throughout the years, whether it’s been onscreen or in the life we lead ourselves, Charlie was smart in adding in the right details and finding a strong, youthful cast that would pave the way for him to make powerful sociological points. I’m proudly woke AF over here, so I personally appreciated a film like this and felt like Norton did a solid job of finding a great way to tell the story of what it’s like to grow up, battle peer pressure, handle the tricky situations that can define who we are, and become the person you’re truly meant to be. Three & a half stars out of five – this is quality work from all involved. |
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