Auraeus Solito’s BOY tells a story of two adolescents : a poet and a macho dancer. A shy boy and an extrovert boy. A well-educated boy and a very poor boy. An unnamed boy (Aieous Asin) and Aries (Aries Pena). When the poet wanders alone to a cheap bar and watches Aries perform his dance, his libido suddenly increases. Then, he decides to sell his comic books so that he can buy Aries for one night. After he gets the money, they spend New Year’s Eve together at the poet’s house.

BOY is filled with many cliches and awkward moments that makes the audiences laugh. Sometimes those awkward moments feels too long and the acting from the leads become a little stiff in a few scenes. The exposure of the leads naked body and the long sex scene give the whole film an erotic atmosphere. It was more of an awkward eroticism than a sexy eroticism. Auraeus Solito also mix the story of identity crisis, dilemma between lust or love, and dysfunctional family in a subtle way.

It is the performance from Madelaine Nicholas as the poet’s mother that really lighten up the screen. Considering that the two leads are just two confused adolescents, the poet’s mother easily becomes the most loveable character. It is one of those seemingly effortless performances that leaves the audiences in awe.

The real problem with BOY is with the scenes which are being dragged too long. Those scenes don't evoke enough emotion. The sex scene itself felt true, but there is nothing much to see and feel from the scene. As an ode to erotic Filipino genre, BOY gives the audiences a mediocre cinematic experience. Fortunately, the mediocrity is finally gone by the end of the film with a scene where the poet and his mother eat together. The scene is so simple, but it is being done in a perfect tone. Again, it is all because of Madelaine Nicholas.

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