Before I Change My Mind

There are two kinds of films about high schoolers: those which present them as the glamorous, effortlessly cool young adults they’d like to be, and those which tell the truth. Often the latter kind are made primarily with older audiences in mind, and trade heavily on nostalgia. Despite being set in the Eighties, however, Trevor Anderson’s smartly observed coming-of-age fable is one of those rare ones which will please teenage and older audiences alike. it feels fresh and up to date and the messiness of its characters’ lives provides plenty of material for viewers to connect with.

Screened as part of Inside Out, Before I Change My Mind follows Robin (Vaughan Murrae), whose arrival at a new school could not be more unfortunately timed. Walking into the middle of a sex education level just as the banana being used in a demonstration breaks, Robin is immediately met by scowls and the whispered question “Is that a boy or a girl?” That’s never clarified – they seem comfortably non-binary – but this, along with being an American in a Canadian school, immediately marks them as an outsider. They face bullying from assorted other kids. As adults try to reassure them in the aftermath of one of these incidents, the line “It’s not my first broken nose” serves as a reminder of just how tough school can be for LGBTQ+ young people.

Ugly though this is, Robin is not the kind of kid to give up. Developing a crush on perceived cool kid Carter (Dominic Lippa), they seize upon a school saxophone band trip to West Edmonton Mall (and theme park) as an opportunity to get close to him. A bond develops, but not without Robin making constant concessions. When their involvement in a local musical brings them into contact with talented young singer Izzy (Lacey Oake), romantic feelings become complicated, jealousy develops, and everything is once again thrown into chaos.

Great performances and carefully developed characters really bring the story to life. There are plenty of adventures, from a rollercoaster ride to a shoplifting spree and a party at which the kids test their own boundaries by watching (specially created) horror film Satan’s Seedlings. Robin and Carter have an encounter with a celebrity of sorts, and of course there is the musical, put on by Anderson’s own character, to provide both pastiche and a touch of Hollywood-style glamour. Behind the scenes, however, nothing is as simple as it looks. Carter is struggling with toxic notions of what a man should be, Izzy is coping with a troubled mother (who, like all the women in the neighbourhood, has an eye on Robin’s single dad), and other kids, pushed to the margins, are dealing with serious bullying and social exclusion.

Although Robin’s journey involves a growing understanding of all this and awareness that they’re not the only one for whom fitting in requires effort, the film doesn’t aim for any kind of moral message, instead just telling it like it is for a lot of young people, and watching as emotionally underequipped characters try to figure it all out. Partly for cost reasons, but nonetheless pleasingly, it avoids the route of packing in nostalgic pop songs, instead featuring a fresh score by Lyle Bell which captures the mood but doesn’t try to tell us what to feel. A lot of effort has gone into production design, resulting in a film which looks really good for its budget, but the most important factor is Anderson’s eye for the sort of details which stand out to teenagers, making it feel as if the story is genuinely told from their perspective.

A treat for viewers of any age, this is a bold little indie film which might well have mass market appeal, its queer subject matter just part of a bigger parcel of astute social observation delivered with humour and verve.