Based on a then-unpublished novel by Roger Ward about the impact of the sexual revolution on Australian teenagers, The Set has become a cult film, due in large part to being the first Australian film to concentrate on a homosexual relationship.
Australian Screen offers the following synopsis:
A young working-class man who sells shirts at a Sydney department store, Paul Lawrence (Sean McEuan), dreams of going to art school. When his girlfriend Cara (Julie Rogers) leaves for London, Paul becomes the protégé of renowned designer Marie Rosefield (Brenda Sender). Marie belongs to ‘the set’, an upper-class clique whose members include Mark Bronoski (Denis Doonan), an influential artist. Bronoski commissions Paul to design a set for flamboyant British stage director John L Fredericks (Michael Charnley). Helping Paul is Tony Brown (Rod Mullinar), a handsome student who is dating Paul’s cousin, Kim Sylvester (Bronwyn Barber). As Paul becomes part of ‘the set’, he begins a homosexual relationship with Tony. Meanwhile, Kim’s mother, Peggy (Hazel Phillips), is bored with her marriage and has an affair with Bronoski. As the deadline for the set approaches, Paul starts to question his values and those of his new friends.
(Sighted: 29/9/2014)
