Released: September 23rd, 2011
Rated: NR
Studio: Sundance Selects
Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New
Directed by: Andrew Haigh
Written by: Andrew Haigh
Personal Bias Alert:
likes small character
studies, not a prude
6.7 of 10
There’s
a clarity to small movies that I love.
They have no money, so there’s nowhere to hide, in front of or behind
the camera. There’s no reshoots, no 50
takes. Any weaknesses will be laid bare,
so you know watching it what kind of hands you’re in. If you get the kind of quality that’s shown
in “Weekend,” then you get to look forward to more and more quality films from
everyone involved.
“Weekend”
tracks the relationship between Russell (Tom Cullen) and Glen (Chris New), who
meet the weekend before Glen is to leave Britain for the US. It operates both as a relationship study and a
character study, interested in both the specifics of gay men and the
generalities that can be extrapolated out to everyone. It balances nicely between the two, and in
its well-observed moments everyone can find something meaningful.
Character studies work
best when you find someone relatable, and for me, Russell was my way in. He reminded me much of myself in the way he
has learned to be very reserved in public in order to protect himself. There’s a great scene where he talks about
this dynamic, stating that inside his home he’s happy with himself, while
outside he feels uneasy. Cullen does an
excellent job at showing this dynamic.
You can see the ease with which he displays his oddities (like his
musings on the history of an old mug) while in his home, but how he tightens up
outside. Glen is quite the
opposite: a loudmouth prone to spouting
politically charged rhetoric. New did a
solid job making Glen’s likeable qualities show, but at times his musings
seemed juvenile, like the rantings of an injustice-obsessed teenager. It gets annoying, but he’s got just enough
sweetness to prevent me from being turned off entirely. I mean, how can you not get behind him when
he gets so nervously smitten asking Russell to his going-away party?
Director
of photography Urszula Pontikos deserves high praise, working in a variety of
settings and filming them in slightly different ways to support the story. Much of the film takes place in Russell’s
cramped apartment, but there’s also scenes at a family home, a bar, the street,
and other such places an urbanite would end up.
Urszula uses different styles for the different places, particularly to
differentiate between the apartment and everywhere else. The apartment, while small, never seems
uncomfortable, and the couple are often filmed closely, intimately. Once they leave the apartment, the shots
expand in scope, often portraying a lone Russell off to the side, removed from
the people around him. It lands, in a
nicely subtle way, the discomfort Russell feels when he leaves his home. It also looks beautiful, and that combination
really makes for some fine work.
Unfortunately,
the film’s not entirely balanced. While
the scenes between the two men are riveting, everything else feels a little pat
and contrived. One too many incidents
occur that reinforced Russell’s reservations, and the sidetrack with Glen’s
friends was too conveniently revealing. Nothing
outside their relationship ever felt very natural, and the larger scenes made
me long for the two of them to run away on their own again. That’s all they want to do too, so maybe that
was intentional? If it was, you still need
to find some way to entertain your audience through these scenes.
This
a basic little film with a straightforward storyline and some excellent acting
and cinematography. You know where it’s
headed, but the ride is enjoyable enough to go on. I hope to see more work, and better funded
work, from all involved.
Other Notes:
Ø It
felt much longer than its 97 minute runtime
Ø I
liked Russell’s nervous hair tousle tick.
Ø It
seems like every semi-successful British actor ends up on either “Game of
Thrones” or “Downton Abbey.” Cullen has
a recurring role on “Downton.”
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