The key facts
- «Club Kid» is Jordan Firstman's directorial debut; he also wrote the screenplay and plays the lead role
- The plot: club promoter Peter learns of his nine-year-old son Arlo, whom the mother has left behind
- The Euronews reviewer praises the atmosphere and Firstman's duet with Absolom, but compares the film unfavourably with Charlotte Wells's «Aftersun»
The plot: from Brooklyn clubs to sudden fatherhood
«Club Kid» begins in Brooklyn in 2016. Peter (Jordan Firstman) is a star of New York's gay club scene, organising parties together with his friend and business partner Sophie (Cara Delevingne). His job is to make sure everyone has a good time and that drugs circulate freely — and he himself is not averse to indulging in them. After an evening on LSD involving the British tourist Leonora (Paris Petrickan), he has a son whose existence he never suspected.
A decade later: dismissal and a child on the doorstep
About ten years later, Peter is still going to clubs, dealing drugs and unable to leave the house without «getting high». On the same day, Sophie fires him for being «literally a child», and Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) appears on his doorstep with nine-year-old Arlo (Reggy Absolom) — Peter's biological son. Edison has brought the boy from London: Leonora has taken her own life, and Arlo's stepfather, in her words, is «a bad person». She has a birth certificate confirming paternity. Promising to return for the child soon, she leaves for London for good — and Peter, whether he is ready for it or not, has to grow up.
Review: a familiar formula, a convincing performance
The Euronews review calls «Club Kid» the «film of the week». The author notes that the story of a «man-child» who suddenly becomes a father, from Chaplin's «The Kid» to Mike Mills's «C'mon C'mon», is not new, but the film makes up for the predictability of its plot with atmosphere and a sincere affection for its characters. In the reviewer's opinion, Firstman has a good feel for the New York nightlife he depicts and for the city's queer community: the euphoria of the parties feels genuine, but also like a temporary escape from everyday problems and deep-seated vulnerabilities.
Strengths and weaknesses
Particular praise is given to the performance of young Reggy Absolom — a debutant who «naturally» conveys a nascent trauma behind an angelic appearance; his duet with Firstman is called excellent. The screenplay balances dry humour and warmth without sliding into cheap melodrama. Among the flaws, the reviewer cites the cartoonish antics of the neighbour Nicky (Eldar Isgandarov) and plot simplifications, as well as a comparison unfavourable to the film with Charlotte Wells's «Aftersun»: «Club Kid» does not achieve the same emotional resonance. The verdict — «a very promising debut» about how it is never too late to find a new trajectory in life. The film is being released in cinemas.
