Consequences (2018) – A Brutal Descent Into the Fragile Nature of Masculinity, Power, and Redemption
There are films that entertain, there are films that disturb, and then there are films like Consequences—that crawl under your skin and quietly dismantle your sense of security. Directed by Darko Štante, this 2018 Slovenian psychological drama is not just a story. It’s a confrontation. It stares you dead in the eye and dares you to look away as it peels back the glossy façade of toughness and reveals the raw, painful cost of becoming a man in a world where vulnerability is punished and violence is currency.
Set against the grey institutional backdrop of a Slovenian juvenile detention center, Consequences follows the turbulent path of Andrej, a 17-year-old with a sharp tongue, a quick temper, and a soul teetering between destruction and salvation. After being sent to a youth correctional facility for a violent offense, Andrej finds himself drawn into a microcosm of toxic dominance, secret alliances, and unspoken longing. It is here that he meets Željko—the charismatic, manipulative leader of the center’s informal hierarchy—and everything begins to spiral.
What follows is a masterclass in psychological tension. Andrej is not a passive character; he’s fiercely reactive, always on edge, always looking to prove himself. But beneath his anger lies something more fragile—confusion, repression, and a desperate desire to belong. His dynamic with Željko is the heart of the film, and it is a heartbreakingly complex one. Željko is cruel, magnetic, and unpredictable, offering Andrej a sense of identity, power, even acceptance—but at a cost that quickly becomes unbearable.
As Andrej gets pulled deeper into Željko’s world, we watch him compromise his values, hurt others, and even hurt himself, all in pursuit of an illusion. The more he tries to be seen, the more invisible his true self becomes. What begins as a story of rebellion evolves into something far more devastating: a portrait of a boy devoured by the very ideals of manhood he’s trying to live up to.
Matej Zemljič delivers a tour de force performance as Andrej. With every twitch of his jaw, every nervous glance, every explosive outburst, he breathes life into a character who feels frighteningly real. He captures the torment of someone torn between craving love and fearing it, someone taught that violence is the only language men understand. His performance is physical, emotional, and completely unflinching.
The film’s cinematography is stark and intimate, often lingering in tight, suffocating close-ups that refuse to let us escape Andrej’s internal storm. The color palette—washed-out blues, institutional greys, dim yellows—mirrors the emotional barrenness of the environment. There is little music, and what exists is ambient, almost ghostly, as if the film itself is haunted by the choices its characters make.
But what truly sets Consequences apart is its courage. It is a film unafraid of discomfort. It tackles themes that are rarely discussed with such raw honesty: the pressure to conform to masculine norms, the suppression of queer identity in violent spaces, and the blurred lines between attraction and aggression. It asks difficult questions and offers no easy answers. It doesn’t preach, it doesn’t moralize—it simply shows.
By the time the credits roll, Consequences leaves you with a sense of exhaustion, as if you too have gone through the wringer with Andrej. And yet, there is a glimmer of hope, buried beneath the wreckage. A small, quiet moment where the possibility of redemption flickers into view—not as a grand transformation, but as a tiny, defiant act of self-awareness.
This is not a film for everyone. It is intense, often painful, and deeply confrontational. But for those willing to engage with its darkness, Consequences offers a rare kind of catharsis. It is not just a coming-of-age story—it is a cautionary tale, a scream from within a system that breaks boys before they ever become men.
Final Score: 9.6/10
Pros: Devastatingly real performances, fearless direction, emotionally complex, thematically rich, unforgettable atmosphere.
Cons: At times unbearably tense, emotionally draining, and may be too brutal for viewers expecting a conventional drama.
Consequences doesn’t ask for your sympathy. It demands your attention. And once it gets it, it doesn’t let go.
