In a suburb of London, young Jamie is escaping sport hours, to avoid being the victim of his comrades. Young Ste, his neighbor, is beaten by his father, and comes to sleep overnight. They discover new feelings, sleeping in the same bed.
When you are making a gay romance, you run the risk of alienating the straight population. Far too many are just uncomfortable, and this was even more true in 1996 (I am writing this in 2015). But this film is keenly aware of that and focuses on friendship, bonding, and not so much on the sexual angle. That is wise, and actually a rule more films could follow (sex in cinema is almost never necessary).
We then populate the story with some interesting supporting characters, and we have a well-rounded look at growing up in a certain part of London. A teenage fan of Mama Cass in the 1990s? Unlikely, but not impossible.
When you are making a gay romance, you run the risk of alienating the straight population. Far too many are just uncomfortable, and this was even more true in 1996 (I am writing this in 2015). But this film is keenly aware of that and focuses on friendship, bonding, and not so much on the sexual angle. That is wise, and actually a rule more films could follow (sex in cinema is almost never necessary).
We then populate the story with some interesting supporting characters, and we have a well-rounded look at growing up in a certain part of London. A teenage fan of Mama Cass in the 1990s? Unlikely, but not impossible.