Closet Monster

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. Maybe I’m jaded and uncaring. Perhaps it’s been too long since I’ve been a teenager myself. Having been in high school during the early 2000’s and never experienced bullying first-hand, it’s possible that I’m just not the audience for “Closet Monster”. There’s a chance. Even if that’s the case, I do admire several aspects of this small Canadian film while firmly believing that it’s needlessly weird for weirdness’s sake and doesn’t do a good job selling you on its central character.

Oscar Madly (Connor Jessup) is a lonely, sexually confused teenager. Traumatized after seeing a violent gay-bashing crime as a child, he lives with his paranoid, petty and narrow-minded father (Aaron Abrams) As Oscar struggles with what to do next, he frequently retreats into a world of fantasy where he speaks to Buffy, his talking hamster (voiced by Isabella Rossellini)

Film is my favorite story-telling medium. Through it, I’ve been able to feel what it’s like to be cocaine-addicted gangsters; self-aware robots; orphaned long-necked dinosaurs; old married couples struggling with dementia and loneliness. “Closet Monster” puts you in the shoes of Oscar and his life is no walk in the park. You don’t have to be gay to understand that living in the same house as a father that won’t accept your sexual preferences, you might as well be staying on death row. I wrote earlier that it’s been a long time since I’ve been a teenager, but I remember what it was like having other guys ask me if I had a girlfriend and timidly saying “Not really” when I knew that the real answer was “No, I’ve never even asked a girl on a date or even held hands with one”. Being a teenager is hard, it’s harder when you don’t think others are going to accept you. The hate crime Oscar witnesses at a young age is hideous enough to screw up anyone so you understand why he’s struggling with his sexuality. My problem with the protagonist is that… well, I didn’t really find him that interesting or likable.

It’s not essential that the main character of a story be good for you to find their tale compelling. You can’t get much worse than Hannibal Lecter but he’s fascinating. In the case of Oscar, I found him to be whiny, lazy, slow to take action, frequently rude or mean and quick to blame other people for his problems. Granted, that’s what most teenagers are like but I kept asking “…and? What are you going to give me to make me like this guy? I know he’s gay and afraid to come out of the closet, but what else? ” There’s a bit of a sympathetic lining to him when he’s shown developing his makeup and photography skills (good stuff, I love the monster designs) so he’s not flat… I just didn’t like the guy. I didn’t find him charismatic or outstanding.

I don’t think I would have been bothered by my lukewarm reaction to Oscar nearly as much if the film hadn’t decided to throw in crazy stuff just to be artsy. Buffy, the talking hamster; does she really serve that much of a purpose in the film? I don’t think so. It’s a gimmick really. You hear the premise, that it’s this teen and he’s gay but he can’t come out and he has a female friend that he’s close with but really, he’s pining after this male co-worker of his that’s invited him to this party…. And wait a second! A talking HAMSTER?! This, I’ve got to see! There are chunks of symbolism thrown here and there, all things that to me were too obvious or would’ve suited a book much better than a movie.

I come in at the middle for “Closet Monster”. I can see it having appeal to some, but I feel that the group it will speak to is narrow. Unless you’re currently, or used to be a sexually confused teenager who lived with parental abandonment issues and were afraid to come out of the closet because you expected violence to accompany your release of the truth, I don’t know how much you’ll enjoy the film. Yes I appreciated the genuine emotions displayed by Oscar, how good the performances were, but the characters are either flat or not all that interesting and that talking hamster, it adds nothing to the story. I’ll say this, for a directorial debut, Stephen Dunn shows a lot of promise. He’s gotten some splendid performances out of his cast and the film is very well made. This project is genuine and while I didn’t care for “Closet Monster”, I’m not sorry I saw it and I’ll be on the lookout for what he’s got in store next. He’s a good director and these are good actors. When the picture works it is emotionally effective and the chances it takes, I like. I may not have loved “Closet Monster”, but I’d hate myself if someone it could’ve really spoken to didn’t go see it because of me. (Theatrical version on the big screen, August 7, 2016)