Beautiful Thing

Synopsis:

Jamie is a shy teenager, often bullied at school. His neighbour Ste has a rough time at home, being beaten by his father and brother. This issues bring them together and they find that what they feel for each other is more than friendship.

Quick Thoughts:

To put it simply: “Beautiful Thing” is a beautiful queer film! Gay films in the 90’s were in an era of change, moving away from the dying from AIDS trope to showing real lives of queer men and woman. Coming of age films were a major storyline in mainstream films, so it was only natural that coming of age and by proxy, coming out films, started popping up in queer storylines as well. Actually based on a groundbreaking play, Director Hettie Macdonal worked alongside playwright Jonathan Harvey to create a brilliant adaptation that is moving and heartfelt on many levels. Almost every gay man growing up in the era can relate to either Jamie or Ste, and while the ending is a bit too perfect for true realism, this queer film does an excellent job to bring that era and all the difficulties to life.