Care

The director Antonia Bird has a history of dealing brilliantly with big issues, such as in the excellent Priest which looked at religion, homosexuality and child abuse, and told its story in a very accessible way. She got an amazing performance out of Linus Roache. And this project is no different. Its presentation of one man's disintegration - an equally impressive Steven Mackintosh - and inability to lead a functional adult life because of the trauma he has suffered is incredibly affecting. The drama includes both his abuse at the hands of men who were his carers and the consequences of that abuse when he's trying to sustain a relationship. The end scenes have stayed with me, even though I saw this six years ago, and their impact is increased by the very fact of their indicating just how devastating abuse is. I don't think you can ever really make too many excellent films about taboo subjects, given that this problem has never really gone away or been out of the news. In contrast to this other reviewer, I'd highly recommend watching Care. Brilliantly directed and performed. But not happy viewing.