FILM: Patrik Age 1.5: A Tale Of Gay Adoption, Homophobia And Love
Chronicling the journey of Swedish gay couple Sven and Goran, “Patrik, Age 1.5” is a film that starts with the pair celebrating the approval of their adoption papers and preparing for the arrival of their child, Patrik, age 1.5 years. Hugely excited about this next step in their life and relationship, the couple soon however discover everything doesn’t always go as planned with Patrik arriving on their doorstep, not as a young baby, but a 15 year old boy, and if that wasn’t a big enough of a shock, this 15 year old boy is also a homophobe who also comes complete with his very own criminal record. Attempts to get the mistake put right as soon as possible however fail with the pair discoering the adoption agency won’t be able to do anything till the next week and so are forced to have to try and get on as a family, not something that’s too easy with Patrik already making it very clear that he won’t live with “gay”. Cue one new “father” thinking that the boy is horrific (Sven) and wanting nothing to do with him and the other start to see that there’s some hope for him (Goran) and wanting to do what he can, even if it is at the expense of his marriage.
Selected for a number of film festivals, to say that Patrik, Age 1.5 is a film with a complicated film with twists you won’t see coming would be a lie. The reality is that working out the plot of this film and the ending is pretty easy to predict from the moment Patrik, the homophobe walks in, Sven walks out and Goran tries to smooth it all over, and I have to admit if this had been an English language film I probably would have switched off then believing it didn’t have the strength to be worth. It is therefore lucky for both Ella Lemhagen, the director and writer, and me that this is a subtitled film that forced me to pay a whole lot more attention and sense that this was a film that actually had a lot more about it than I first imagined, intuition that didn’t let me down.
In terms of story this film does at times feel like it’s trying to deal with two many issues, with the attitude towards Goran and Sven from their non gay neighbours, the relationship between Patrik and Goran, the relationship between Patrik and Sven, the relationship between Sven and Goran, Sven’s worries about becoming a parent again, Goran’s issues at work because of this sexuality and Patrik’s troubled history all thrown up in the air and not all caught quite as gracefully as others.
Looking at the acting, there are two stand out performances in the film are definitely from Gustaf Skarsgård as Goran and Thomas Ljungman as Patrik. In my eyes the most likeable character, Gustaf Skarsgård is also the one who will end up surprising you most quickly shaking off the “only picked for his good looks” label and proving himself to be a talented actor, particularly with his interactions with Ljungman, where both prove their worth, Ljungman concerning powerful homophobic outbursts and his believable journey of change and acceptance of who Goran and Sven are, and Skarsgård concerning his naivety of how best to deal with Patrik, but also in how he portrays a growing fondness for this boy.
However saying that though it would be wrong to say Torkel Petersson does not perform well as Sven. He does and is equally believable, particularly concerning his anger and frustration towards a child that you’re actually not sure he truly wants as much as Goran whatever his age. He also plays a crucial part in making the relationship Goran and Sven have not feel like a very obvious gay relationship, but a very normal and ordinary one just ours are in real life. What however is just as powerful about the character of Sven is not what he says and does, but his absence when he can’t deal with having Patrik around, and let’s be honest you don’t see many awards being handed out to actors for their amazing absences in films do you!
And so we reach the point where I need to answer the question you want answered. Is Patrik, Age 1.5 worth watching? Well that all depends on what kind of films grab you. Patrik, Age 1.5 describes itself as a gay family comedy. Personally I think that’s a weak description. This film isn’t not funny, but the humor definitely isn’t what makes the film, what makes it is the exploration of the relationships within it whether that be between Sven, a man who already has grown up children and his husband, Sven, who longs for a child, the individual relationships between the pair and Patrik or the relationship between this family of perceived outsiders and the community within they have. For some of you it’s not going to be gritty enough and will skim over the issues of homophobia too lightly and to an extent I would agree, however for the story it’s trying to tell and the age range it’s aimed at, I think it’s actually got the balance of sitcom like bounce and gritty drama just about right.
Patrik, Age 1.5 is available to pre- order online for release on 23rd August at Amazon.
