Review of God's Own Country (2017) by Chelsey C — 28 Nov 2017

Finally saw it. Not a great movie by any means. As usual in these movies, if it had been a man and woman instead of two gay men in the same story, no one would have paid any attention to it. There really isn't much story, and the acting is more striking an attitude than acting. What happens, I think, is that the bleak setting and the relentless dreariness of the landscape make some people think they are seeing art, but what they are really seeing is overcast skies and mud. And skinning a lamb onscreen makes you feel you are watching something daring, but, hey, its just farm boys skinning a lamb. As for the sex scenes, they are ok, except for the sound track jacked up with a lot of hard-breathing that like those cheesy porn movies where you know someone came in later and dubbed the sound, badly.

The two leads are not great looking, and shouldn't be, but that isn't a problem. It's that they have no real story to tell - there is virtually no plot - and much of if feels cliched and formulaic. There is one strong scene - when the guy goes to ask his Romanian boyfriend to come back - it's a tear-jerker for sure, but then it folds into a sort of West Hollywood happy ending - which I was grateful for after all the mud and drizzle - but it feels tacked on and again, cliched.

And then there is the problem with the directing. Actors staring into the middle distance for long periods of time hoping we'll read something into it is not acting and either are close up shots of boots stomping through mud - it never seems to rain but everything is always wet - and after awhile you start itching FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. While it aims to be "Brokeback Mountain Goes to Ireland" (or wherever) it most certainly ain't. Ang Lee had a story to tell, knew how to tell it and how to frame a scene. They should have asked him for a little input. md.