Two men find an emotional connection despite the challenges of life as LGBT+ men in this realistic drama from director Craig Boreham.

Casey, a young gay man, leaves his small town after a scandal involving a married man forced him into exile. Having arrived in Sydney, he crashes a party before heading to an apartment where he joins a group. There, he meets Tib, a local, and the two soon find themselves instantly attracted to each other. Tib offers Casey a place to stay and the two start a relationship.

While working as handymen for local Carol, things start to go on the up and up for both men. However, despite their bond growing strong, both Casey and Tib feel out of place with each other when it comes to certain things. When Tib learns of Casey’s reasoning for leaving his hometown, things start to deteriorate between the two. When during an engagement with a third man, Casey gets mad when he sees other man chokes Tib, ultimately leading to a split between the two. Now down on his luck, Casey must try to find a way to survive in a world he knows nothing about once again.

What is very interesting in the world of romance and dramas is that everyone seems to be too lovey dovey. However, Craig Boreham did something very different with this film. He created a film about the realities of relationships in the world of LGBT+. There are a few scenes that may seem “lovey dovey”, but it is all about a strengthening bond between two men from two different worlds. Boreham also doesn’t hold back when it comes to the film’s love scenes, which are at times graphic, but that is the intention of the director.

The driving force of the film is the chemistry between Josh Lavery’s Casey and Daniel Gabriel’s Tib. They meet under the most unlikely of circumstances, when Casey is asked to join in a threesome with Tib and another man. However, the focus soon is solely on Casey, a “fish out of water” who finds himself in a city he’s never seen before and Tib, a local who has seen it all and even has support from his family, even if his dad looks uncomfortable at times.

Some notable supporting performances go out to Anni Finsterer’s Carol, the woman who hires our two leads, and sometimes looks as if she wants to do something with Casey, even knowing he is gay. The other goes out to Ian Roberts’ Pietro, who takes Casey in after his fallout with Tib. Pietro is an interesting character as he tends to be both sympathetic and somewhat bullying at the same time when it comes to Casey.

Lonesome is a realistic, emotional ride in the world of LGBT people in Australia. The chemistry between Josh Lavery and Daniel Gabriel is definitely on par and despite the film’s at times graphic but not too  love scenes, the emotional connection between the leads is the heart of the film.

WFG RATING: A-

Dark Star Pictures presents a Breathless Films/JJ Splice Films production. Director: Craig Boreham. Producers: Craig Boreham, Ben Ferris, Dean Francis, and Ulysses Oliver. Writer: Craig Boreham. Cinematography: Dean Francis. Editing: Danielle Boesenberg.

Cast: Josh Lavery, Daniel Gabriel, Anni Finsterer, Ian Roberts, Vincent Andriano, Mark Paguio, Damien Killeen, Hendrix Lee Taylor, Ally Morgan.