It Is in Us All

The description of the film was strange and puzzling to me: "a sexually charged boy". Was the film pornographic in nature featuring an underaged male participant? I wasn't intrigued by that but decided to watch in order to disprove or better understand why it was phrased in such a way, especially when it is described as including LGBT representation, when being LGBT is again increasing in demonization and oversexualization by some. I am so glad I watched this film in any case.

The film is set in Ireland, mostly in the countryside, so naturally the cinematography included sweeping shots reflecting the mood of bemusement and extended grief both the main characters and others were experiencing, from past and current tragedies. It's nothing new in direction to use landscape as representative of emotion or even as a protagonist itself. Hamish Considine, the lead character, is visiting to settle the home and visit the graveside of an aunt when he's involved in a car accident. His connection to his mother and family has been troubled for several reasons, and this is his first impression of a place he is "from" but never lived.

Others have asked how is this LGBT representative when they felt there was no overt discussions or references to sexuality, yet that shows are over reliance on stereotypes, often used by CIS heterosexual directors as interpretations of LGBT people. They may be dependent on overt sexual behaviors to "safely" decide, "Oh yeah, he or she is gay, trans" or anything else so they can stay in their "comfort zone", as it were, of labeling and compartmentalizing others so they can define (or hide) their own identities, attractions or prejudices. Yet like intelligence, sexuality is on a spectrum.

From the first scene, Hamish, played by Cosmo Jarvis with great skill and in all his mumbling glory (subtitles highly suggested especially if you're not familiar with Irish accents in general), I immediately sensed someone of probable non-heteronormative reality even if he had not made it carefully but respectfully clear to a female secretary or receptionist at the start of the film that he was not interested in her flirtations in the slightest.

The "sexually charged boy" is seventeen year old "Evan", the lone survivor of the other vehicle involved in the crash, well-played by Rhys Mannion in representing the simmering desires, frustrations, attractions and love/hate quality for his life, location, and loves as any teenager might have, whether gay, straight, transgender or anything else. But which more often results in abuse, misunderstanding and ostracization, whether community or self-imposed for LGBT youth. In turn, some develop fixations, such as with death and dying, or in manipulations to establish control over others when feeling one has little control over one's own life.

Young Evan soon attaches himself to Hamish who perhaps represents freedom, success and the "outside" world, of another possible life, but also as an accessory in covering up a critical detail of the crash. Was it an accident or a decision Hamish accidentally interrupted? Hamish in return, shows a desire for connection, of protection, of helping a young man in whom he saw himself when younger, as he might have been had he grown up in Ireland instead of England, where his mother took him.

In Hamish's interactions with others, and then later with Evan and Hamish together talking to the same people, you can see the pointedly ignored or casually observed acknowledgement of the attraction betwen the two whether Hamish admits it or not. And the townspeople, of course, know more about Evan than the newly met Hamish. Particularly, with men, the priest, the shopkeeper, the barman, there's always a careful gauging of Hamish's reactions to revealed information, secrets, both past and present. About Hamish's own family and Evan and the group of boys he is introduced to, and which Evan is the leader of. There is symbolism, and several scenes and dialogues obviously suggesting diversity of attraction and past behavior.

In the end, I think the "sexually charged" description was heavy-handed and unnecessary, causing misunderstanding of what would be shown, when I found this to be a beautifully shot film with nothing subtle in the suggested explorations, the budding desires and dreams of young men who want to be and do more than what is "acceptable", but who still have love of the land and history of where they are from. That could be Ireland or anywhere. So absolutely, the title is apt, "It is in Us All".

Sexuality was only one facet in the relationship of Evan and others, between Hamish and Evan, and why Hamish allowed himself to continue with Evan while he dealt with his own grief and history. I found it to be an excellent representation and example of how an older and younger man may have an attraction to each other, for various reasons, but wisely, carefully, the more mature man takes that age difference seriously, and respects the need for the underage person to experience and explore appropriately in their own way, in their own time.

I found the film gorgeous, and the story heartbreaking and courageous at the same time. An excellent directorial debut with an ending you won't see coming. Highly recommended.

Reading through some of the suspiciously high ratings here does reveal a theme of trying to paint this film as arthouse surrealism with nuanced and hidden messaging but it seems to be rather insulting to intelligent audiences and it may work with some but the majority will see it for what it is, a badly written and badly directed project which is redeemed in part by a good lead actor and beautiful location. All of which cannot however, redeem the attempts to pitch this as a gay movie, which seems an afterthought that should have been left at just a thought. Why, because anyone setting out to make a gay film could do better, way bettter and likely would do better. The director/writer also appears in this as an actor and doesn't lift the film in any way and should have probably stopped short of a complete vanity project. I would have rated this slightly higher were it not for the blatant pumped up reviews spouting rubbish analogies.

The blurb suggests a daliance between the main protagonist and a lad who is highly sexed apparently. Nothing happens, nothing but shared grief and realisation of loss. I heard it was shown at LGBTQ film festivals and to be frank, it's impossible to see why.

There is more physical contact between the main character and a cow than anyone else and that was a light petting in a shed. There is a hint at some attraction but it does smack of baiting an audience who might find Cosmo, who was great in Calm with Horses as a good choice to play a gay man, but he doesn't seem to think he is in this film and its probably best given the immaturity and bizarre writing attached to the other character: Certain written behaviors that don't make sense and wouldn't happen in real life, so they just come across as made up for effect rather than substance.

The lead actor, Cosmo is good, supporting cast is ok with moments, particularly efforts at crying which were bad, cringe. It would have been better to cut them out.

Overall, it's essentially about nothing much, even the beautiful scenery is not the best of what Donegal has to offer and they could have shown more. There are stunning vistas everywhere you turn in Donegal and the production wasted that in my view, settling instead for repetitive shots along roadways.

'It is in us all' is not a satisfying watch. It has all the look and self-importance to become a very serious art-house deep dive into a human psychology... or something -from the mysterious characters to sweeping wide shots of the landscapes to an extended scene that nearly amounts to body-horror. I sat there and waited something to happen, to go deeper, perhaps even dark. It didn't. It's all misty to the end.

But at least it made me think about one aspect, which the director may never have intended and I may have totally blown out of proportion, but... I find the dynamic of Anglo-Irish relationship featured in the film rather interesting.

For many British (especially English), Ireland remains something blurry back in their mind. A kind of a little brother figure, still feels like a forgotten part of their nation, somewhere they can always visit and impose themselves on but nowhere they particularly want to be anyway. This attitude you can picke up from Hamish's English father. For him, Ireland is just a backwater, and the difficult relationship of the past (represented by his failed marriage to Hamish's Irish mother) is just water under the bridge. In other word, it's just not worth putting much thought to.

On the other hand, the Irish response to the English visitor is a complex mixture of curiosity, fascination, and veiled suspicion. One moment very friendly, but just below the surface there's hostility that runs deep from their acrimonious past relationship.

Hamish, half Englsih half Irish, sits right between these 2 clashing dynamics, and eventually breaks down in the subtle but unbridgeable gap. He arrivs Ireland first as a totally unsympathetic stranger. Even the fatal car accident doesn't seem to stir him much, and he seems to take it as just something happened. Only when he realises the forgotten Irish root, he finally looks around. He's inexplicably attracted to it, yet he can't really understand it nor fully accept it.

This is just my unsubstantiated rant about the film. But it could be a way to see this rather vague film? The very fact that the director chose an English actor as her leading man for her feature debut, and thus making her own country 'the Other' in the dynamic is a telltale sign.

Hamish Considine arrives in Ireland to deal with his deceased Aunt's estate, when he's there he's involved in a serious car accident, an accident that lengthens his stay, enough for him to start asking why he feels a connection to the place.

I don't for The life of me understand some of the negative reviews, this film is far more absorbing and deep than some will have you believe.

This is one of those films that simmers throughout, you'll watch it, expecting some big moment of drama, it's bot really like that, it's a subtle, slow burner, everything is very measured.

The visuals are pretty good, I thought they may have shown a bit more of that incredible scenery, but it does look good.

It had an LGBT tag on it, I don't quite see the connection to be honest, and sexuality is not the purpose of the film, it's a film about discovery, but in a very different area.

I haven't seen much of leading man Cosmo Jarvis if I'm honest, but after this I'll definitely be keeping an eye out, I thought it was an impressive performance, he's repressed, he's angry, he's confused, he's unable to process all of the complex emotions that are suddenly thrust upon him, it's as if his world has been turned upside down, and he's left without the tools to deal with it.

8/10.

I'm now aware that risking to watch a european arthouse movie can lead me to anger and frustration. That's the least to say about this movie. Just take account that it's not even EU founded, that's to tell how low this is. Well, I know now that it is very possible to do worse than E. U. taxpayers funded garbage movies.

While this was slow, while the both most important scenes where absolutly implausible, while a lot of dialogues were nearly impossible to decifer to anyone not used to such strong accent and so bad actors' pronunciation and sound capture, while some cameras where not even set to stabilisation (in the car at the end, it's not handheld-style intentional, it's technicaly just an error)... I did watched it to the end (if you call it so, but yes there's an end).

May be the director wanted the audience to depress and get suicidal after watching that. Well, I laughed at myself to have watched it. I feel so ridiculous ! I even laugh again right now, writing this review and thinking again about this movie ! Actors must feel bad to have now that thing in their profile.

I won't spoil any of the plot, you might dare to try it out to challenge your intelligence, but it's just that the movie ends without telling us what happens to the most friendly and alive actor in this movie, the cow.

I was curious then to read some press review, it's the most funny part of it, how some reviewers tried so hard to find something good to say ; yes, Ireland landscape is beautiful and, and..., and that's it. It's funny to read the Guardian's one, she details well the beginning and... well, she obviously gave up and didn't go further :-)

This is not a gay-themed movie, characters can be replaced by anything else. Location can be replaced by any other one too.

Warning, should be rated 18 for depressing and dangerous behavior. Don't let your teenagers watch that.