Starring Connor Jessup. Rated 14A

In addition to the pet hamster that talks in the silky tones of Isabella Rossellini, there is much to admire about Closet Monster, a teen coming-out movie that doesn’t always go where you’d expect.

Writer-director Stephen Dunn digs at the raw pain and shame that come when insecure teen Oscar discovers his sexuality. The story is set against his parents’ ugly divorce and a beer-drinking, casually homophobic dad (Aaron Abrams). It helps that there’s style to burn, in both the moody shots of the atmospheric St. John’s setting and the luminescent indie soundtrack that drives the drama. Dunn’s off-kilter risks—from casting the Rossellini-voiced pet-hamster confidante to Cronenberg-esque shots of a symbolic metal rod that pushes out of Oscar’s gut whenever he feels a sexual urge—show the same kind of daring that’s made Xavier Dolan a star.

If the script has flaws, they’re from either trying too hard or an inconsistent tone. In a pretty extreme prestory, a young Oscar witnesses a horrific hate crime that will haunt any queer yearnings he might entertain later on.

Where it’s strongest is in focusing on the tightly wound, bitingly funny Oscar (Connor Jessup), who wastes his hours working at a hardware store, dreams of becoming a Hollywood special-effects makeup artist, and pines after sexually confident coworker Wilder (Aliocha Schneider).

Jessup is natural and nuanced in conveying not only Oscar’s repressed anger and fear but also his confusion. When a friend asks him about being gay, “When did you know?” he answers, “I still don’t.” Abrams draws a wild, gruff portrait of his father—nicely shifting from the fun dad in childhood to a more menacing role as Oscar gets older. But sometimes, his scenes are too on point—whether he’s bringing a new fling home or descending into yelling matches with his ex.

Still, this is a promising debut, washed in style, colour, and hormonal passion. Whether you buy the talking rodent or not, it shows the kind of artistic guts that bode well for Canada’s next gen of filmmakers.