Review of The Pass (2016) by Jonathan B — 19 Jun 2018

At the time of writing, there is only one openly gay footballer in the English Premier League. This is a sad state of affairs in the national game giving boys and young men few gay role models and confirming a stereotypical and homophobic attitude held by some that gay men do not play sports.

I am sure that this sorry state will change but change comes slowly. The Pass deals with this issue following as it does the story of two young footballers over 15 years and showing the effect that two significant events, one on the eve of an international match, the other on the pitch itself, had on their lives.

I was not aware of the play that this intense movie was based upon but it feels very much as though it has come straight from the stage. Made up of just three prolonged scenes in three different hotel rooms, packed with dense dialogue and high emotion.

Russell Tovey is a competent and effective lead with both Arinze Kene and Lisa McGrillis super in supporting roles. This movie was not quite what I was expecting but I found the performances drew me in and the John Donelly's script was simply electrifying.

Director Ben A. Williams took a brave decision in the setting by keeping it so stripped back theatrical but for such an intimate, emotional story, this was very much the right way to go.