Beautiful Thing [IMPORT]

Rating:
Summary: Sweet & poignant coming of age (and out) story
Review: An emotionally tender & wonderful coming of age film, "Beautiful Thing" is an essential addition to your "alternative" movie section.

The story centers around Jamie (Berry) and Ste (Neal), 2 teenage classmates and neighbors in a working-class development in London. Jamie is a reserved teen sharing a normal relationship with his single, pub manager Mom (Henry). Ste lives an emotionally and physically abused life at the hands of his single father and older brother. What transpires between them is a very tender and emotional tale of first love and budding homosexuality. Awakening sexual desire, guilt, fear and, eventually, love is played out in an honest & sincere fashion.

The entire cast is superb. As Jamie & Ste, Glen Berry & Scott Neal give their characters a sweet and emotionally accurate innocence... especially when joyously galavanting through a forest together and sharing a long kiss. Linda Henry is exquisite as Jamie's Mom, Sandra. She delivers a fantastic and multi-layered performance as a woman trying to deal with her own life, in addition to her son. As the Mamas & the Papas loving neighbor Leah, Tameka Empson graciously adds some needed turbulence (comically and otherwise).

The script is heartfelt, comical (some moments between Sandra & Leah are a bitingly hilarious), and fresh. Definitely a wonderful comedy-drama and, perhaps, the best coming out film of the decade.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss It!
Review: BT is one terrific movie -- and one of those surprises you could have almost missed, but are eternally grateful that you didn't! It's an honest, fun, sensitive and uplifting story about growing up, about loving, and about raw courage -- without any of the political agenda or overwrought angst found in other films of a similar genre. Linda Henry and Glen Berry give first-rate performances as Sandra and Jamie, a British working-class mother and teen-age son struggling with the usual stuff of which such relationships are made, while Jamie is simultaneously discovering the depth and beauty of his sexuality, and the love that he feels for his neighbor and mate, Ste (Scott Neal). Far from being another cliche-filled coming-out story (though coming out is a major theme), Beautiful Thing is most authentically a love story -- and a damned good and happy one at that! (though weeping is certainly allowed, encouraged, and unavoidable in certain key scenes). But it's not just about the love that Jamie and Ste share; in a way that is inseparable from the main story line, it's about the powerful and life-giving love that Jamie and his mum feel for each other. The movie is full of hope and joy -- and will fill you with those same feelings. Indeed, it sticks to your gut and stays deep down inside long after you have first seen it.

The downside of this film is that its "R" rating (certainly not for sex -- it's gotta be for the rough language) deprives a whole group of young people from experiencing a film that could bring so much goodness to their lives. Every teenager, gay and straight, ought to see this movie. It cuts through all the stereotypes and shows just how beautiful the love between two regular guys can be. Their story is so moving that one would have to be pretty cold and hard not to root for the triumph of Jamie and Ste's love. Indeed, making it a required part of the high school curriculum would go a long way in freeing young people from fear and prejudice, and would do much to help them become more loving and accepting people. What an inspiration and beacon of hope it could be for young gay people looking for a way to love and a reason to hope!

You will be glad and grateful for seeing this movie. In fact, I guarantee that you will not be able to see it just once -- you will want to see it again and again. And that's why you will want to buy it! That's what I did!

Rating:
Summary: A Must See and A Must Have
Review: This film deserves six stars. It is more than a story about two men falling in love. It is just a wonderful love story. It is very sincere without being sickening and very sensual without being overtly provocative.

Buy two. One for yourself and one for someone you care about.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet & poignant coming of age (and out) story
Review: An emotionally tender & wonderful coming of age film, "Beautiful Thing" is an essential addition to your "alternative" movie section.

The story centers around Jamie (Berry) and Ste (Neal), 2 teenage classmates and neighbors in a working-class development in London. Jamie is a reserved teen sharing a normal relationship with his single, pub manager Mom (Henry). Ste lives an emotionally and physically abused life at the hands of his single father and older brother. What transpires between them is a very tender and emotional tale of first love and budding homosexuality. Awakening sexual desire, guilt, fear and, eventually, love is played out in an honest & sincere fashion.

The entire cast is superb. As Jamie & Ste, Glen Berry & Scott Neal give their characters a sweet and emotionally accurate innocence... especially when joyously galavanting through a forest together and sharing a long kiss. Linda Henry is exquisite as Jamie's Mom, Sandra. She delivers a fantastic and multi-layered performance as a woman trying to deal with her own life, in addition to her son. As the Mamas & the Papas loving neighbor Leah, Tameka Empson graciously adds some needed turbulence (comically and otherwise).

The script is heartfelt, comical (some moments between Sandra & Leah are a bitingly hilarious), and fresh. Definitely a wonderful comedy-drama and, perhaps, the best coming out film of the decade.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Beautiful
Review: I can't count the number of times I've read a magazine article about this movie, how many times I'd scoured the movie rental places for it in high school, how many times I'd almost bought it online... but never did get my hands on it until recently. It may be hard to find, but it is well worth the search. This is the best coming-of-age movie I've seen --I connected with it and each of the characters on more than one level-- and I was delighted to find that the usual stereotypes are no where to be found in this movie. And on top of that, no sex scenes or anything else you might not want to show your mother.

The story has been summarized in many of the other 250 or so reviews, so I won't do that here. But I will urge you to get this movie and watch it -- it will touch you and be beneficial whether you are just coming to terms with being gay, if you're out and completely fine with yourself, or if your kid or friend has just come out to you. Even if you don't know many gay people, watch this movie and see what you think. It deserves all the awards, recognition, and reputation that is has. I only wish I had seen it sooner (and that other people had seen this before I had to come out to them!).

This is a British film, so expect more rough language than you'd see if it had been made in the U.S... I'd also recommend using the Closed Caption to keep from getting a bit confused from the language differences (for instance, I thought Ste had said he was Naked when it made no sense ... ends up he had said Knackered... sleepy I guess LOL).

Whether you rent it or buy it, find some way to see this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A very beautiful thing
Review: I wish they had had this film and play when I was younger. The story of Jamie, his family, his love and his difference is very powerful. The central character Jamie is in the process of coming out, and has an infatuation that deepens into love with his nextdoor neighbor and friend Ste. Jamie's life is a bit of a shambles given his mother (a single mother) who has a flighty but sincere boyfriend. Jamie's mother only wants the best for him, which is a far cry from Ste's family, headed by a single father, which also includes an abusive brother.

The dynamics of life in the government housing unit (called council housing there) is interesting, as all people have hopes but lowered expectations about what life can bring them; this is very much a teenager angst movie, and even the adults seem to be into it.

Jamie's mother should be a member of PFLAG, being at first shocked, but then very supportive. Ste's father and brother fall into line with the typical homophobic types. The rest of the world seems blissfully unaware of the major life events taking place, which in reality makes this film very realistic.

This is not a deep film, but it isn't really superficial either. It is honest and sincere in expressing the emotions and situations of the characters without making them cartoon cut-outs or political objects. But in the end, the message is political of a sort, and that is that we all have the freedom to run our own lives, including who we love.

This is beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: A better depiction on what a good gay relationship is...
Review: THIS MOVIE IS A GREAT MOVIE FOR ALL GAY PEOPLE TO WATCH TO REMIND THEM OF WHAT THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IN A RELATIONSHIP. EVEN IF YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP, THIS MOVIE SERVES AS A REMINDER TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT. THIS MOVIE IS ALSO A GREAT MOVIE FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT THE GAY RELATIONSHIPS...IT SHOWS THEM HOW POWERFUL THE LOVE BETWEEN TWO MEN CAN BE. A MUCH BETTER DEPICTION OF THE GAY SOCIETY AS OPPOSED TO QUEER AS FOLK WITH NOTHING EXCEPT DRUGS, ALCHOHOL, AND SEX SEX SEX!!!

Rating:
Summary: it's a beautiful thing
Review: i saw this movie a couple of weeks ago and i can say i've been completely touched by it. i no longer see homosexual relationships as "physical relationships". I also got from the movie what Jamie and Ste have is a very deep and sexless relationship, i mean, they had sex but that is not its foundation. i think i speak for a lot of BT fans that we would've liked twenty or thirty minutes extra so things would've developed a little further -i'm talking about the end. i'm might also be talking nonsense, but why not make BT a tv serie? i know some other characters must be further developed but i think it would be a very watched serie. i mean, if The Bill has been on telly since the 1980's, why this not? if this was a juggernut, then take full advantage of it despite of overexposure !! i mean,look at the spice girls!! they were everywhere you looked at!! two years were enough for the fab five.

Rating:
Summary: I want MORE
Review: The only thing that I can think of to say bad about this movie, is the fact that it ends so quickly and abruptly. I would have been able to easily see another twenty minutes of footage added on the end to wrap things up nicely. The story between the two boys is somewhat naive, but very well done. I wanted to be them! Are all Channel Four Films like this?

Rating:
Summary: To open the closet door is the hardest...
Review: Jamie, an ostracized young man, seeks solitude in old films and he is neighbors with Ste. Ste is a popular athlete, but also is frequently abused by both his father and older brother. During one of Ste's cruel treatments he seeks shelter with his neighbor Jamie and this becomes the beginning of a friendship, which later turns into affectionate love. However, the common notion among those who surround them is against their secret love which challenges them emotionally as they fear aftermath of their love. Beautiful Thing is a wonderful love story that grows within the dead concrete buildings and powerful oppression of the social environment of the two young men. In the end, the audience is left with a touching cinematic experience that most people can relate to as they fall in love for the first time.