Beautiful Thing

A wonderful story of gay teenagers that is ideal for parents to show their children; so that they understand that gay people may be different, but not bad. Faithful to the play, great music score and gives a real feeling of English tenements.

This film is about two teenagers in a deprived neighbourhood coming out and falling for each other.

Character development is excellent in the movie. The impoverished neighbourhood and the rough people are shown right from the beginning. Ste is an abused teenager, and the mere sight of him evokes sympathy. Jamie's courage and insistence on Ste is to be admired. This film tells the fear and confusion of coming out. A particularly memorable scene is when Ste cries in next to Sandra in her apartment. He cries with his face turned away from Sandra, with his hands covering one side of his face. To me, it is such a powerful scene, because it sums up all the confusion, shame, fear and hurt Ste must have felt in his premature involuntary coming out. The film is warm and affecting. I am glad about the happy ending, which is much needed to bring gay teenagers hope and comfort.

Gay or straight, this is one of the finest movies ever made about self discovery and teenage love. Albeit the end is a little wishful and optimistic, the characters and situations are perfectly developed and realized, ringing true in almost every scene. This movie makes me smile on every level...from the way the two boys discover their affection for one another, the wonderful comedy relief from the next door neighbor Leah (and her relationship with the entire tenement population), and the perfect choice of soundtrack music from Mama Cass that, at times, seems written specifically for certain scenes and works on both a nostalgic and familiarity level. This movie gets better with every viewing...and I'd love to see what happened to each of the characters in a sequal.

This movie is, without a doubt, very personal to all gay men and women who came out during their youth and a favorite of all of my friends, both gay and straight.

It seems when it comes to gay-themed movies, the Brits outdo us Americans hands down. This movie is another example of this fact. This movie rates as one of the best in this genre. Get Real comes a close second.

The young actors that play Jamie and Ste do an extraordinary job sometimes forgetting how well they pull off such complex characters throughout the movie. I think any gay man growing up can relate to Jamie. He doesn't excel in sports, and almost too smart for his own mother. He is comfortable with his sexuality, and he doesn't give a damn what the world thinks of him. Ste, on the other hand, fears his older brother, and his father made his life miserable. As he states in the film, "they made me ugly". Ste is not all ugly, and Jamie realizes this, and is attracted to his brash, manly demeanor. Unfortunately, Ste's own demons and his insecurities are present throughout the film. At one point, Ste ashamed of rumors of his questionable sexuality, denies it to a heartbroken Jamie.

Obviously, I enjoyed this movie. The scenes between Jamie and his mother and likewise, between Jamie and Ste, are perhaps the best parts of the movie. I understand having Leah in the movie to provide the supporting role of comic relief was a necessity in most film requirements, but in this one, it distracted the viewer to an extent. I was so glad when it came out on DVD, so I can put my last VHS tape to rest, but disappointed that there were no cast interviews or extras at the end. Granted, the movie was made six years or so after the DVD came out, but you might think the film makers would find something of interest.

So England what will be the next great gay movie ?

BEAUTIFUL THING is a unique drama - presenting an adolescent gay couple as complex individuals, within a greater setting (an English housing project) that also captures a bit of a slice-of-life feel. I like the working-class setting, and wasn't bothered by the accents - as an American it required me to pay attention - a good thing as there are many subtle details that make this a very rich drama.

It does tug at the heartstrings a bit, and it lays on the cuteness a bit more than it should, but I loved the characters anyway, and the setting and context (very nicely detailed film-making) keeps those minor gripes minor.

There have been so many cynical or clichéd gay dramas released during the last decade or two, especially in the US (gay film from elsewhere in the world often seems so much more fresh and lifelike) - in many ways this film was (and remains) a real breath of fresh air.