A Disappointing Continuation

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Overall, I liked the "coming out" part of the story. It rang very true and I could identify with the situations the characters experienced. The rest of the movie, though, felt like it lacked focus, like it tried to accomplish too much and in the end it did most everything okay when fewer story lines might have worked much better.

Talking to a family friend about the excellent Nordic Noir film Black's Game,he told me about a gay Nordic Drama that he had recently seen.With having only seen the Noir offerings from recent Nordic cinema,I started to get the "jitters" to explore other genres.The plot:Going on a school trip to the UK city of Manchester for 3 weeks,Icelandic 16 year old Gabriel is pared up with fellow Icelandic Markus. Sharing a room together,Gabriel begins to develop a strong bond with Markus on their nights out drinking,and starts to fall in love with him.Returning home to Iceland,Gabriel finds his friends to constantly push for him to go out with girls.Nervous about the response he would get,Gabriel decides to keep his feelings for Markus hidden from his friends.As Gabriel tries to make sense of his feelings,his best friend Stella finds herself struggling with the restrictions that her grandmother is putting on her feelings.View on the film:Backed by a warm acoustic indie soundtrack,co-writer/(along with Ingibjörg Reynisdóttir)director Baldvin Zophoníasson & cinematographer Jóhann Máni Jóhannsson give the movie a rustic,almost documentary appearance,as Zophoníasson's long takes capture the intimacy and friendship between Gabriel and his friends with a real delicacy. Giving the paperback cover of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a cheeky cameo, Zophoníasson subtly brings darkness into Gabriel & Stella's friendship,as the light,breezy brightness of the first half dims into dark blues and blacks,as Stella starts to reach a breaking point with her grandmother.For the screenplay of the film, Zophoníasson & Reynisdóttir use the opening to give the relationship between Gabriel & Markus a firm foundation,thanks to the casual nature of the dialogue expressing the love and tenderness that Gabriel feels for Marcus. Surrounding Gabriel with a group of pals,the writers brilliantly make the criss- crossing plots feel like they are building the overall friendship of the gang,as Stella's tragic issues with her ground mother are entwined with Markus having a desire to know about what Gabriel's feelings are for him.Given the most tragic notes of the friends,Iva Holmes gives a raw,heartfelt performance as Stella,with Holmes brilliantly balancing Stella's relaxed,friendly personality with a brittle darkness that becomes to much to bare.Lighting up the screen with his dazzling eyes, Atli Oskar Fjalarsson gives a fantastic performance as Gabriel,thanks to Fjalarsson giving an adorable awkwardness,as he starts to get the jitters for Markus.

As for the previous writer's review I won't comment...I thought this was a very well done coming of age drama. These kids are no different than kids in the US in that age group. Some people do drink a lot as well as do drugs during those years. It doesn't mean they aren't going to eventually find themselves and turn into who they will become in years to come.I thought the acting of each of these young people was very good and Gabriel's character would certainly touch home with many in any part of the world who are trying to figure it all out...I would highly suggest this movie to young people coming of age who are having problems with their sexuality. The movie is for the most part non-sexual in nature and what exist of the gay portion is very well done.

Jitters is not exactly the movie the packaging describes (the story of a gay 16 year old's coming of age). It's more of an ensemble piece with multiple story lines. In fact the supposed main story is so lightweight it's easy to forget it's meant to be the movie's main story. Not that Jitters really has any story to tell. The movie just stares at the slightly over dramatized lives of a group of Icelandic 16 year olds. This mainly consists of drinking, kissing, drinking Coca-Cola (either that beverage is huge among Iceland's youth or the company paid for placement), gossiping, and walking around looking cute and moody. Every now and then there are flashes of drama which feel more like script flourishes than real life. If you liked the BBC's Skins you might enjoy Jitters. But Jitters is more like a listless, dreary, low key version of Skins. It's watchable but not memorable. Jitters is also one of those films where you can see the bones for a much better film beneath all the standard movie plotting. There are a few moments which are excellent, such as the final scene in the film. Had the story focused on the main character and his sorting himself out this probably would have been a great film.