Weekend

Watching movies alone

The movie was surprisingly good. Honestly, I expected something cheesier. Weekendmanages to do gay romance really well, without falling to cliches that would make the film feel trite or forced. Written, directed and edited by Andrew Haigh, Weekend is both sincere and heartfelt.

Comparisons to Once is inevitable, since they are both similar in scale and scope. Two people meet by chance, spend a limited amount of time together to realize that they are deeply in love. What made John Carney’s Once so remarkable is present in Weekend as well: the film is simple, straightforward, intimate and character driven. Weekend perfectly cast newcomers, Tom Cullen and Chris New as Russell and Glen. Both actors were natural and believable. They’re both attractive in a believable way too, which is a nice change. The story is not new, but Haigh manages to create characters that are charming, convincing, and surprisingly real. Russell and Glen are so different from each other, but I felt for both of them.

It is difficult to make a queer oriented that has no political motifs embedded into the film. Haigh balances politics and personal contexts for the ideas through the characters personalities and belief systems. It hits on all the hard stuff about being gay, without being preachy or trying too hard to be relevant. Everything just seems to flow so seamlessly together.

I particularly enjoyed the last twenty minutes of the movie.