1:54, written and directed by Yan England - Eight out of 10

1:54, written and directed by Yan England

Eight out of 10

1:54 is a provocative, thoughtful, remarkable drama that explores some of the issues faced by teenagers who are gay and as a result, they have to suffer the bullying, insults and aggression of colleagues.

It is true that other categories of teenagers – perhaps most? – have to cope with adversity and trauma, as they are rejected by one or another of their colleagues, or are excluded from one Facebook group or another.

There is a different situation in the case of the hero of this narrative, Tim aka the very talented, wonderful Antoine Olivier Pilon (seen in another formidable work, Mommy, noted on here: http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/note-on-mommy-written-and-directed-by.html)

Tim is a talented boy of sixteen going on seventeen, who has lost his mother and after her death his world is changing, he seems to be somewhat confused regarding his sexuality.

Although, it might be better said that he probably understands that he is gay, only given the pressure of the peers, the ferociousness of some of the colleagues who are vicious and always ready to torment, he does not admit to it, at least not openly.

In fact, at different stages he denies his homosexuality, when his friend Francis aka Robert Naylor admits he is gay, Tim acts as if he is stupefied and he says that he had no idea.

Later on, he kisses a girl, Jennifer aka Sophie Nelisse and she would be upset with him, for she has realized and reproached him that this embrace was meant to disguise the fact that he is a homosexual.

Tim and Francis spend a lot of time together, they are both remarkable in chemistry class, where they are encouraged by the teacher and their experiences attract other pupils who come to watch the minor explosions and the special effects created by the two virtuoso.

Francis is very sensitive and overwhelmed by the bullying, repeated attacks and vicious pranks that homophobes perpetrate, making him suffer in all manner of humiliating circumstances.

At one point, Tim hears a commotion in school and he has a feeling that something is very wrong, and as he approaches the place where people are gathered, he can hear Francis shouting.

He has been locked in his locker for some time and when he is finally released, he sees his best friend in the group that had been so mean to him and seems to think he could have done something to do with it, if not willingly, intentionally, at least he might have been a co-conspirator.

When the teacher arrives, he is asking around and stops at the hero, who is unwilling though to incriminate anyone, he would not say who is behind this ordeal and then adds that he is not a snitch.

Alas, the fragile state of mind, the frequent attacks and humiliations, the bullying, the constant torment and probably the lack of support from his best friend make Francis unable to cope with trauma anymore.

He commits suicide by jumping from a high point

Tim is devastated and admits to the blame, he tells his teacher that he was not there to offer support when his friend needed it and he would be haunted by dreams in which the ghost of the departed shows up.

He has an idea that he could act in such a way as to pay homage to the memory of the dead comrade, and if he had refused to participate in running for competitions before the tragedy, he is willing to use his skills now.

Tim has beaten the record for the fastest running student and seems to be on his way to win more, making the previous winner angry and determined to stop him at all costs, including nefarious means.

Jeff has won the running contest one year before, he is one of the villains, the thugs responsible for the death of Francis, and who is now concentrating his malicious attacks on his competitor.

One night, Tim engages in same sex with another teenager who performs felatio on the hero, an act that is alas recorded on camera by the loathsome Jeff, who would then use it as blackmail:

“You get out of the running competition, or else the video will be available for everyone to see”

This causes a breakdown and it makes Tim willing to get to the end, to extract revenge on all, for the sufferings, torments inflicted on him and his dead friend, using his knowledge of chemistry to cause a calamity.

For reasons of spoiler alert – even if it is very unlikely that people read this and furthermore, they might take the trouble to look for this on Netflix – we had it on Cinemax here, which comes with the HBO package – I will not say what happens next.