In the film’s hottest scene, Dickinson fights past his nervousness to strip down to nothing but his socks and seduce his attractive, much older male partner ( Douglas Everett Davis) – who, though we know little about him, sports a wedding ring (and some questionable palm-reading skills). A thoughtful meditation on burgeoning gay desire and denial, Beach Rats was a breakout indie hit in 2017, featuring a stellar, thoroughly brave performance by up-and-coming British star Harris Dickinson (playing a New York teen with total authenticity). As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences. When his chatting and web-camming intensify, he begins meeting men at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men. On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends.
