Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The last time we had seen Danny Embling was in 1987's The Year My Voice Broke. John Duigan ended that film with a sobering voice-over from the adult Danny, recalling how he never saw Freya again, and how sometimes childhood friendships lack the survival instincts to make it into the real world. That 'Stand By Me' touch has been dialled back for the loose sequel in Flirting. There's still glimpses of an older, wiser Danny reflecting back on his past, but now there isn't the same adolescent desperation that causes every aspect of life to be overblown. And Flirting is better for it. This is a film that knows exactly what it is and doesn't try to be more; rarely does a director have this type of self-control. Yes, the boy is invoking Camus and Sartre in his everyday musings, but this never spills out of his own character. Danny, now a scrawny seventeen year old, has been shipped off to boarding school to beat the delinquent out of him. His classmates target his stutter daily, and make a mockery out of his every word. Like most teen movies, he has managed to scavenge one friend to keep the bullying at bay, but unlike most teen movies, they aren't about to set the world on fire. For one thing, they aren't played by actors in their mid-twenties. Another thing, the conflict isn't billed as a battle between the nerds and jocks. Hollywood has predictably conditioned us to believe that if the protagonist steps into the boxing ring against some hulking bully a miracle will be pulled off, and if not, the latter will at least be dealt their comeuppance in the end. Those films are less likely to wallop their main character because of his own foolishness; Thandiwe warns him against it, as does Gilbert (who has thoughtful advice for all sorts of situations), but Danny is compelled anyway, and is beaten to a pulp. Yet Duigan is wise enough to recognise that one quarrel doesn't mean the end of the world, and in an subtle, unspoken way later, he signals the respect that has been gained from the clash.Noah Taylor is good enough to draw on the intellectual inspiration that his teenager is driven by, and to present it in a way that cleverly appeals to both meatheads and admirers. He first catches Thandiwe's eye when their respective schools contest a debating competition, and in a moment of triumphant comedy, he waxes lyrical about the wonders of rugby and masculine physicality while slyly inserting his own disdain for the sport. Thandiwe returns serve with her ironic praise for pop culture, and every raised eyebrow and wry smile along with Little Richard's elegant prose draws Danny in further. The scene is their first instance of flirting, of their brains gently bumping up against each other, and silent gazes saying so much. The love scenes in Flirting are so truthfully drawn they are almost like windows into the past. Watching them, I am reminded of how sex is often treated in teen movies as a flamboyant selling point, as a way of justifying that raunchy R rating. Remember Phoebe Cates rising from the pool in slow motion like a goddess? Was that for the film's development, or was it for the audience to hoot and cheer? But then watch Danny and Thandiwe inching towards each other on a rug, guiding each other with their hands, saying everything with their eyes. And their last touch? The teachers don't even have to pry them apart, or cut off their last desperate declaration of love. They know their time will be up sooner or later, and they have the maturity to accept it. Look beyond the lead pair and you find Duigan's acute sense of the boarding school milieu. The boys are wild animals, jokesters slapping each other around until dance night, where they stand shoulder to shoulder staring at the horror across the hall...GIRLS!!! Every Australian school classroom has that one larrikin that always stops laughing a little too late, and cops detention while professing that it will never happen again...at least until the next lesson. Mr Cutts? He keeps a firm line of discipline while still showing he cares about his students - almost as much as he cares about his little model airplanes. And look at the scene where Danny and Thandiwe's parents meet for the first time, which is a perfect distillation of how Australians practice small talk. They offering simple pleasantries. They exchange polite nods and smiles, hoping to pry just a little but not too personally. They fumble around for conversation topics and somehow end up stumbling into some tricky issues, but chug along anyway. No one 'wins' the scene. There isn't an agenda breathing down their necks when they bring up war or race, and we leave feeling that all four are well-meaning adults that want the best for their children. A film like Flirting is a breath of fresh air. It concedes to not having all the answers, and that's okay. Danny may not be able to solve the Ugandan political crisis, but that won't stop him from holding Thandiwe's hand, staring deeply into her eyes, and hoping for the best.

The irreverent Australian teen who survived the first advance of puberty in 'The Year My Voice Broke' finds himself enrolled in a strict, boys-only boarding school and attracted to a demure young girl (played by newcomer Thandie Newton, in a remarkably natural performance) from the equally cloistered girl's academy across the river. He fact that she's a refugee from Uganda isn't an issue (except to indicate how each is an outsider in their respective schools), and their refreshingly colorblind romance lifts the film above the average horny teenage mating ritual. Writer director John Duigan identifies every bane of post adolescent life (braces, pimples, raging hormones), but beyond that captures all the tyranny of petty academic oppression and the terrible yearning of sexual awakening, depicted for once without any bogus slow motion ecstasy or crass innuendo. With so many grace notes it seems mean to point out the usual irritating prop of unnecessary voice-over narration, and the unrealistic optimism of the resolution: teen romance rarely ends happily-ever-after, even in rose-colored memories.

Intelligently written piece that combines sub-genres of Coming of Age and inter-racial films.The plot is fairly straightforward and the message of the film is not deep. Nevertheless, it is an original film which is simply and cheaply made.The first strength of the film lies in the exquisite performances from great cast of the then unknown actors, 3 of whom have gone on to great performances in many other films (Taylor, Newton and Kidman).Secondly (assuming you are over 14 years old), the audience will have a strong feeling of resonation with the subject matter (growing up, alienation the school "norm", being allowed to behave differently etc). The fact that the film is by a British director about an Australian boarding school probably means that the film has a wider appeal to all anglo-saxon nations.Finally, the humour is understated but engaging.I loved this film on release. It has not lost any of its charm since, though you are slightly distracted by seeing well-known actors in their youth.

Those who've watched The Wonder Years will recognise the style of storytelling here. The main character is also the narrator, there's an ongoing reference to world events, there are adolescents growing into maturity, and there are some wonderfully rounded and recognisable individuals.Both main characters experience discrimination, including in Thandie Newton's case, racial discrimination both overt and implied - e.g. an Australian lad says to her "Your English is very good", to which she responds "So is yours"!On the surface it's just a coming-of-age school story, but the film continually rises above this to greater heights of poignancy and subtlety.Nicole Kidman is brilliant in the difficult role of the head of school who apparently has it all until, in one of the most moving moments of the film, her true self is revealed.