Film

Flirting

Name: Flirting
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: 1991
Cast: Noah Taylor, Thandiwe Newton, Nicole Kidman, Bartholomew Rose, Felix Nobis

Coming-of-age

A luminous 1991 romance between two sharp, restless teenagers at neighbouring Australian boarding schools. It's intimate and funny, fizzing with the electricity of first real connection—two people recognizing themselves in each other across institutional walls. For anyone who remembers the particular ache of being too awake for the world around you.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like coming-of-age romance that lets the awkwardness of first love sit beside the sting of institutional cruelty, and you don't need the film to resolve every thread neatly.

Skip it if you want a tidy plot with a clear arc; this drifts through its boarding-school setting in a loose, dreamy way, and its talk of ideas can feel slow.

What it asks of you: Roughly ninety-nine minutes, unhurried and observant, with its humour dry and its mood shifting between giddy and bruised, so it rewards patience more than attention spent in short bursts.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Dead Poets Society1989

A group of students find liberation through an inspiring teacher at a rigid prep school. Like Flirting, it captures that specific longing to break free from suffocating systems while you're still young enough to believe you can.

But It's earnest to the point of schmaltz, and the film has aged into something more saccharine than its ambitions intended. The messaging can feel heavy-handed.

Picnic at Hanging Rock1975

Mysterious, sensual, and deeply atmospheric—a masterclass in Australian cinema about girls at a boarding school where something unknowable happens. It shares Flirting's attention to the inner lives of adolescents and the magic of constraint.

But The plot is deliberately elliptical and may frustrate those wanting conventional narrative resolution. It moves at its own meditative pace.

The Breakfast Club1985

Five teenagers from different worlds forced together in detention discover their shared humanity. It has Flirting's gift for making adolescent connection feel genuinely profound without patronizing the young.

But The '80s aesthetic and some of the social politics haven't aged well. Certain character arcs feel dated now.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Flirting

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Muriel's Wedding1994

Both are Australian films about adolescents and young people finding themselves against systems designed to crush individuality. Both understand the gap between who you're told to be and who you actually are.

An Australian comedy-drama about a woman finding herself after years of conformity. Like Flirting, it's set in Australia, understands institutional pressure, and finds genuine warmth in characters breaking free—but it's messier, funnier, and more ruthlessly honest about what escape costs.

But It's relentlessly dark under the comedy. The central character is deeply unlikeable before her arc begins, and the tone whipsaws unpredictably.

Angst1983

An Austrian film about gifted, bored teenagers chafing against school life. It shares Flirting's intelligence, its visual grace, and its refusal to sentimentalize youth while still respecting young people's inner worlds.

But It's bleak and offers no comfort. The emotional tone is austere where Flirting finds joy—this is the darker cousin.

If Beale Street Could Talk2018

A tender, visually ravishing portrait of young love under pressure from an unjust system. Like Flirting, it privileges the emotional truth of the relationship over external plot mechanics and finds beauty in constraint.

But The pacing is deliberate and sensual rather than conventionally dramatic. Some will find it slow; others will think it's perfect.

Submarine2011

A quirky British coming-of-age film about an awkward teenager's first love and his obsessive, introspective nature. It has Flirting's fondness for its characters and its understanding that adolescent intensity is real intensity.

But The twee indie aesthetic won't appeal to everyone. The protagonist can be grating if you're not in the right mood for his voice.

The Half of It2020

A modern, witty retelling of Cyrano about a closeted lesbian helping a boy court her crush. It understands how adolescent desire can be tender and funny at once, and how connection between young people carries real weight.

But The setup feels contrived to some viewers. It's very much a Netflix film—slick and slightly slight where it could cut deeper.

Rebel Without a Cause1955

James Dean as a restless, misunderstood teenager navigating a world that won't let him be. It's the godfather of adolescent alienation, and it genuinely captures the pain of not fitting into the world around you.

But The dated gender politics are glaring. Some scenes feel overwrought compared to modern acting styles.

My Own Private Idaho1991

Released the same year as Flirting, this is a sprawling, poetic meditation on youth, desire, and belonging. It has the same generosity toward its young characters and the same refusal to reduce them to plot points.

But It's formally experimental and can feel deliberately obscure. The narrative is circular rather than linear, which tests patience.

A Prophet2009

Both films centrally feature intelligent young characters who use their wits to navigate and subvert authority. Both understand that adolescent awakening can be a form of rebellion, though Flirting celebrates it and A Prophet shows it as survival.

A French prison drama about a young man discovering his power and intelligence in a brutal institution. Like Flirting, it's about a young person recognizing their own capability in an oppressive system, and finding transformation through connection and cunning.

But It's violent, claustrophobic, and morally ambiguous. This is not romantic—it's cold and strategic in ways that might feel punishing after Flirting's warmth.

Summertime1955

Like Flirting, it's about two people from different worlds finding each other and experiencing a connection that feels transformative and true, even if temporary. Both films believe absolutely in the reality of that feeling, regardless of how long it lasts.

A Lean/de Sica collaboration: a lonely American woman on holiday in Venice meets a married man, and for one summer, she feels alive and seen. It's shot in glorious Technicolor and moves with the pace of desire—unhurried, sensual, achingly romantic.

But The gender dynamics are of their era. The romance is tinged with melancholy that some find depressing rather than poignant.