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For teenaged Rockit (Rasmus King), surfing is pretty much his world, so much so that he fails at school and is unaware that his dad Bosch (Luke Hemsworth) is actually a weed farmer. Then though Bosch's plantation goes up in flames, and Bosch has to grab his son and their belongings to get to somewhere far away just to not be found out by the police - also because a local crooked detective, Derek (Martin Sacks) has a personal vendetta against him. To shield the truth from his son, he takes him to surfer's paradise Byron Bay, to first spend a couple of nights in a tent on the beach, then at a nearby surfers' hotel, where Rockit, thinking he's on an extended vacation, has the time of his life, especially after he meets lovely Ash-Ash (Savannah La Rain), who's quick to become his best friend and eventually girlfriend. And Bosch himself gets quite friendly with the hotel owner's daughter Deb (Isabel Lucas), so everything should be perfect, right? Well, to a point, as eventually Bosch has a run-in with the police, and while he comes out of it unscathed, Derek soon enough picks up the scent, and soon he and Rockit are on the run again. Not wanting to expose Rockit to any more danger, he drops him off with his estranged mother (Leeanna Walsman) - but if Bosch wasn't the perfect father then at least he tried, but same can't be said about the mother ...

A very engaging coming-of-age film that works quite so well because it remains relatable throughout - relatable even to those of us who have never lived through similar circumstances, but thanks to characters that feel real (and are embodied by a very capable ensemble) experiencing situations that don't seem too forced and making mistakes one's proned to make, the whole thing just speaks to one. And even though the film has its fair share of thriller tropes, it's the quieter moments that keep one watching, thanks to a suitably subtle direction, some beautiful locations and of course a cleverly constructed script, all of which adding up to one pretty cool movie.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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