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Beautiful Thing (1996) gay interest
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SYNOPSIS:
The offbeat, underachieving denizens of a southeast London apartment building get an emotional wake-up call when two of the neighbors--two teen boys--unexpectedly fall in love. Tenderhearted kitchen-sink realism from Channel Four Films, adapted from the play by Jonathan Harvey.
This is a tender love story set during a hot summer on a South-East London housing estate. Jamie, a relatively unpopular lad who bunks off school to avoid football, lives next door to Ste, a more popular athletic lad but who is frequently beaten up by his father and older brother. Such an episode of violence brings Jamie and Ste together: Sandra (Jamie’s mum) offers refugee to Ste, who has to ‘top-and-tail’ with Jamie. Hence, the story tells of their growing attraction for one another, from initial lingering glances to their irrefutable love, which is so magnificently illustrated at the end of the film.
REVIEW
This tender story of two teenager's sexual coming of age in a working-class development in London is an inspiring, tender, emotional tale. Jamie is a reserved teen, close to his pub manager mom, who prefers old Hollywood musicals to sports. His friendship with his hunky neighbor Ste, a fellow student who suffers through a troubled family life, soon develops into a sexual and eventually a loving relationship. How the two boys tentatively handle their nascent sexual drives and how it affects their family and friends is handled in both a fresh and surprisingly upbeat fashion. A wonderful comedy-drama and possibly the best coming out film to date. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scott Cranin
eautiful Thing might be the most beloved of all the gay-youth movies released in the late '90s, which also included Edge of Seventeen and Get Real (which was an almost note-for-note replay of Beautiful Thing's blueprint). It almost certainly has the largest cult fan base. One obvious reason for this is that Beautiful Thing is grounded in a realistic sense of adolescent agony and how it gives way to the rapture of new romance that. For all their attempts to paint gay life as being carefree, other films in this mini genre completely missed this point. Instead of simply pinning it on his developing notions of his own sexuality, screenwriter Jonathan Harvey's scenario makes the torment that only child Jaime (Glen Berry) goes through a much more universal and generic toil. The central plotline concerns Jaime's attempts to start a romance with hesitant boy-next-door Ste (Scott Neal) but a series of complex and flawed characters occupy the periphery of the story, first and foremost Jaime's vehemently protective mother Sandra (Linda Henry, who would have won an Oscar were this a perfect world), who is simultaneously the cause and relief of Jaime's distress. Sandra's tough love often seems to border on the abusive, but she still has nothing on Ste's father, who thrashes the boy with regularity and encourages his older brother to do likewise. Jaime's neighbor on the other side of the housing project is Leah, who obsesses over and attempts to channel Cass Elliot, adds to the problems when she learns of the taboo relationship unfolding between Jaime and Ste. These subplots aren't sideshow attractions to divert attention away from the main story. While Get Real's filmmakers seemingly create such distractions as if they themselves were averting their eyes from the love story they set out to film, Beautiful Thing's subplots don't divert attention away from the main story." Every thread contributes to the film's overall sense of whimsy until, in a scene set to Elliot's exhilarating "Make Your Own Kind of Music," Jaime and Ste reach a tingling, breathless romantic apex.
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