Just finished watching this film for the 2nd time. This a small gift of art - a clean, articulate character study that does an enormous amount with a minimum of dialog and some excellent writing, directing and acting. The characters come to life quickly and in 3 dimensions, the tensions created between the two men are great and lend a solid strength to the movie, and it is a fairly out-of-the-box take on romance, gay, straight or otherwise.
It drags a bit in places - but that just may be a very American perspective. It is romantic, even sexy - and does so without anything more sexual than a few kisses and guys sleeping in their underwear. It doesn't preach, it doesn't beat you over the head, and (I would suggest) it doesn't give a damn whether you buy the story or not. It is a well-told tale.
I like that it calls into question the nature of attraction, and who it can happen to, whatever gender preference is articulated. I remember all the discussion around "Brokeback Mountain", and how if a guy is attracted to another guy then they must be gay. Which is of course crap. Here, decades after Kinsey and his research, we still want very much to believe that a person is either/or, when most of us, the vast majority of us, are not so cleanly labeled or boxed.
Two "straight" guys fall in love with each other. Not so wacky. Pretty interesting actually.
It drags a bit in places - but that just may be a very American perspective. It is romantic, even sexy - and does so without anything more sexual than a few kisses and guys sleeping in their underwear. It doesn't preach, it doesn't beat you over the head, and (I would suggest) it doesn't give a damn whether you buy the story or not. It is a well-told tale.
I like that it calls into question the nature of attraction, and who it can happen to, whatever gender preference is articulated. I remember all the discussion around "Brokeback Mountain", and how if a guy is attracted to another guy then they must be gay. Which is of course crap. Here, decades after Kinsey and his research, we still want very much to believe that a person is either/or, when most of us, the vast majority of us, are not so cleanly labeled or boxed.
Two "straight" guys fall in love with each other. Not so wacky. Pretty interesting actually.