An aspiring writer moonlighting as a sex worker to bring authenticity into his novel is the kind of premise that has endless possibilities. Many kinds of films of different genres—mainly dramas and thrillers—can be spun from it. In his latest movie, Sebastian, director Miko Makkela takes that premise and makes something that works both as a character study of a very ambitious individual and sort of a cautionary tale regarding what can happen if you go too far for your aspiration. The narrative of Sebastian is understandably dense, but thanks to sharp editing and a very compelling performance from its lead actor, Ruaridh Mollica, it never loses any steam. In this article, of course, we’re going to discuss the ending of the movie and the little bit of ambiguity around it. Let us take a closer look.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
Twenty-five-year-old freelancer Max Williamson works at a magazine where his primary job is reviewing other authors and interviewing big names like Bret Easton Ellis. However, Max has bigger things to do in life. He wants to write a novel about sex workers in the digital age, and in order to research the topic, he is living this whole other life as a prostitute named Sebastian (also the name of his novel). His clients are mainly older, wealthy men who want to remain discreet (as they’re also hiding what they’re doing from their families), which perfectly suits Max’s agenda. At his day job, Max comes across a bit cocky, although pretty much everyone, including his boss, swears by his skills as a writer.
Things do start to get a little complicated for Max when he fails to properly balance his two jobs and ends up neglecting the one that provides him the recognition. He’s no longer the magazine’s automatic choice to interview another queer author like Ellis, as that responsibility is given to someone from the payroll. Instead, Max is sent to attend a tech launch event, which he also blows by leaving in a hurry and not interviewing this woman, Joan, who was supposed to be the star of the show. And the reason Max had to bolt? To attend to a client for his other job, of course. However, the client, whom he names Jonathan in the book, turns out to be much different from the others. He is an old, compassionate man who seems to have quite the interest in art and literature and shows an interest in Max, contrary to going wham bam at it. Jonathan would rather talk than do anything else, which is a first for Max as well.
Why does Max stop working on his novel?
Even though in the first act of Sebastian, it does seem like Max has his two lives under control; you know, for a fact, it’s only a matter of time until the two worlds collide and he finds himself at the center of a mess. Unfortunately for him, this happens when things are actually going well for him. He has got a publisher who is sold on his idea. He has promised to deliver the novel in a short time, which is also going to help him break free of the magazine. But the world turns upside down for Max when he spots Jonathan at one of the literary parties. Considering we already know of Jonathan’s interest in this field, it’s only natural, even though it’s a coincidence. However, Max is alarmed by it. It is clear that he doesn’t want anyone else, including his only friend Amna (who works at the magazine with him), to find out anything about the extent to which he has gone for the novel. So he does what anyone would do at this point—delete everything regarding his existence as Sebastian and get out of his night job. That also forces him to drop his plan with the novel, because how can he write without going through the process now?
Why does Max start working as a sex worker again?
For quite some time, you wonder whether Max is doing all this just for the sake of a novel or whether, deep down, he is actually drawn to it. The sadness in the character is not of the usual kind; you see him moping around all the time. But it is also true that Max is lonely and his other job keeps him going. Taking on this whole other identity as Sebastian is something that makes him feel alive. That said, his reason to get back into the profession is majorly financial, as he gets dropped by the magazine for not prioritizing it (I can’t blame the editor, honestly). Fate brings Max back to the person who unintentionally played the catalyst in him abandoning the novel. But Jonathan makes it clear that he never had any intention to out Max, as he values Max’s (he still knows him as Sebastian though) anonymity. Even though Max doesn’t completely bare himself to Jonathan, he starts genuinely talking to him. His professionalism starts getting blurry as he finds himself drawn emotionally closer to the old man. We also find out about Jonathan’s life, about how he met his (now dead) former lover David back in the days when he was still not out. I suppose the movie establishing Jonathan’s character as more than just a regular client is also a metaphor for Max seeing him as a human being, beyond the professional boundaries. Invigorated by this change in life, Max also gets back to the novel, and his publisher is more than happy. But there’s one pretty big hitch: the publisher doesn’t like where Max takes it, especially the whole Jonathan arc. She feels the audience is not going to buy it, and it also deviates from the original path, i.e., Sebastian as the sex worker. But Max is hellbent on not writing a story that ends tragically. However, he has no choice but to listen to the publisher, as having a book published is better than having a manuscript that nobody will read.
Is Max able to publish his novel?
Attempting to fulfill his publisher’s demand, Max decides to revert to his old ways. That does mean cutting Jonathan’s time short, something that Max doesn’t intend to do. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he has fallen in love with Jonathan, but there’s no doubt that Max is now deeply fascinated by this man and genuinely likes his company. That becomes even more clear when we see Max finding it difficult to connect with one of his former clients, Daniel. Even though Daniel does his best to make it worth it for Max at the hotel in Brussels, it doesn’t come easy for him. Unlike before, he realizes that he is not liking anything (most importantly, the sex) anymore. Had Daniel not found Max’s laptop (and read what he wrote about Sebastian almost being forced by Daniel), things would have probably not turned that ugly, though. But as it stands, Daniel throws away the laptop and kicks Max out of the room; that too without his wallet. Alone in the streets of Brussels with no money, Max tries to find his way out by earning a bit by hastily getting involved with someone. That backfires, as the person seems disgusted by the idea of paying for sexual favors.
With Amna unavailable, Max has no one but Jonathan to turn to. He does come to Max’s rescue, though. Not to mention, he also makes sure to take care of a shattered Max due to what he experienced in Brussels. This time around, Max doesn’t hide anything from Jonathan. He also feels genuinely guilty about using Jonathan for the story, for which he thinks he deserves to be hated. But Jonathan turns out to be a gem of a person, who lets him know that he would only hate Max if he didn’t publish the novel.
I’m glad that the movie chooses not to do anything anticlimactic, and Max does get to publish his novel. We also see him enjoying having sex again, this time with a prostitute at his apartment. This is clearly a life coming full-circle moment for Max. At the Q&A event for his book, Max tells his publisher that he’s open to all sorts of questions. This only implies that he is not scared of people knowing what he did for the book anymore. Max has finally accepted this whole other side of him, and from here on, life keeps getting better. That’s a very optimistic ending Sebastian leaves us with, and it seems very fitting, if you ask me.
