A powerful performance by Matt Levett as the sexually repressed bully Len provides bravado to an uneven but absorbing narrative.
An alpha male with attitude, Len is top dog at the local Sydney surf life-saving club – as was his dad before him. But younger, gay newcomer Phil (Jack Matthews) displaces him. Intimidation and bullying finds Len confronting his own sexual desires as a King’s Cross alcohol-fuelled celebration leads to tragedy.
Brutal and confronting, Drown is not easy viewing. Levett is menacing as the angry Len, but Matthews in his passivity is unconvincing and ineffectual, creating an imbalance. Some scenes work better than others but conflicted and sexually confused, it’s Levett’s film all the way.
Rating: 58%
Director: Dean Francis (Road Kill, Crazy Richard)
Writer: Stephen Davis (Monkey Puzzle, City Loop), Dean Francis (Crazy Richard) – adapted from the play by Stephen Davis
Main cast: Matt Levett (TV’s Wolf Creek, A Place to Call Home), Jack Matthews (1500 Steps), Maya Stange (TV’s The Commons, Love Child)
An Opinion or Two 