Another World

Written and directed by Sean Sadler, Another World explores the struggle to not simply become a fatalistic product of one’s environment, but also how daunting it can be to take that first step towards something better in what is a wholly relatable story of love, self-acceptance, self-destruction and prejudice.

Neighbourhood hard-man and vandal Mac (Whorton) seems to get a kick out of terrorising the other local youths, often directing his aggression particularly towards Jack (Moore), a young bisexual often derided by the rest of the area for being “weird” and a “freak”. However, it seems that as well as growing tired of his reputation as the local bully, Mac has his own struggles with his sexuality, leading to a change in relationship between himself and Jack that could finally mean happiness for both, but could also mean risking their social status, friends and even their lives.

While it generally succeeds in terms of direction, editing etc. there are unfortunately some technical issues that can’t be ignored, mainly in the film’s sound production. While it does seem to iron itself out somewhat towards the end, much of the film’s beginning and middle suffers from differing levels of volume, especially when cutting between characters in dialogue-heavy scenes. In places, characters are almost inaudible and also at times out of sync. Others who shout can often go too far the other way, with other music and sounds at times quite deafening. But thankfully, Sadler and co. get the important things right, which are strong leads, strong storytelling and strong themes to go with it, a great mix that will give audiences more than enough reason to stick with it, sit back and enjoy watching this story unfold.

The big hitter in terms of all these positives is the anchoring performances from the two leads, who are (and this cannot be understated) critically essential to this making this story believable, relatable and worth-watching. While, finale aside, most of the supporting characters seem to float around on the periphery and not offer much depth to either themselves or the world they inhabit, we are here for Jack and Mac’s story, and both Moore and Whorton embody two fully realised characters you can’t help but root for. Tough guy acts are tough to sell, and while the others in Mac’s violent and despicable group of “friends” have their moments, overall, they aren’t that convincing, but Whorton’s performance, one much more nuanced and subtle, is.

And balanced against that brilliantly is Moore’s conversely much more empathetic and sensitive Jack, who’s desperation to see Mac lift himself out of the turbulent life seemingly laid out before him into something finally happy can be heart-breaking. When two characters such as these are then mixed into a story that is both well-structured, well-written and well-paced, what you end up with is a tragic love story choc-full of drama, emotion and heart.

Technically it’s a bit bumpy however as has already been made clear, Another World gets right what matters and ultimately delivers.