Weekend

Poignant, detailed romance

Two people are standing together in a small kitchen, making coffee. After a drunken first night together, they have met up again the next day. The chemistry is crackling between them, but neither knows whether they are about to kiss. "Just waiting for the kettle to boil," Russell says to Glen, pointlessly. It is an almost embarrassingly recognizable detail, one of several in Andrew Haigh's poignant Weekend. These small moments enrich the film, where the interaction between the characters is so important.

Tom Cullen and Chris New

I was pleased to finally see Weekend, following its success on the festival circuit and recent wins at the British Independent Film Awards, including Most Promising Newcomer for actor Tom Cullen. Cullen plays Russell, a gay man who goes to a club after an evening with his straight friends. There he meets Glen (Chris New), and we witness their relationship over the following weekend as they take drugs, have sex and tentatively get to know each other. It is clear they are falling in love, but Glen is moving to America permanently at the end of the weekend.

Both actors are impressive in what is essentially a two-hander. They are exposed by long takes and semi-improvised dialogue, and both deliver well-realized, believable characters. Russell is not fully comfortable with his sexuality, but Cullen shows us warmth and humour rather than a one-note tortured soul. Glen is more confrontational and politicized; he interviews Russell about their first encounter for an art project, and claims not to want a boyfriend. His insecurities surface gradually and New's sometimes comical performance is cleverly balanced.

So Russell and Glen do not become consigned to stereotypes, closeted versus out-and-proud. Haigh's handheld, minimally edited shots help us embrace the characters as they develop. We are with them from their first bad dance onwards, all the while in an admirably bland Nottingham setting. It feels sometimes intrusive. There is also little additional music to distract, although the two John Grant tracks came as a pleasant surprise.



An art project

But, along with the acting, it is the writing which propels the film. Occasionally the improvisatory feel is broken slightly, but more often the notes are hit perfectly. Russell compares his unease with being gay to the feeling of indigestion, which almost tells us everything we need to understand him. Most successful are the small moments, like that with the kettle, or the indecision about punctuation in a text message ("I feel like shit!" or "I feel like shit x" or "I feel like shit...").

Through these details, we identify with the relationship. Andrew Haigh has made a film about a gay romance, but its appeal is in no way exclusive. The romance is human, and Glen's bitter conviction the straight people won't come to see his art project "because it's got nothing to do with their world" does not apply here. This is an insightful film which reaches far beyond its intimate sphere.

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