Review of Weekend (2011) by Matthew S — 28 Jul 2015

The ideas and concerns of Queer Theory and Queer Film have changed as much in the past 15 years as have the civil rights of the LGBT Community. In the 1990's there was a Queer Film Theory boom. The topics related to LGBT were filled with experiment, love, horror and hope. Sometimes graphic to intentionally cause controversy and gain attention ("The Living End" / "Frisk"/ "Hustler White") or to give access to truth ("Longtime Companion" / "Go Fish" / "High Art") and then a wide variation of goals/entertainment came to local cinemas ( "Chasing Amy"/ "Bound" / "We Think the World of You" / "Beautiful.").

Eventually as more and more gains were made in the LGBT World, the gay-themed movies began to suffer. At this point most of them tend to either troubling horror metaphors to placid soap operas to soft-core crude comedies.

Andrew Haigh's film arrived as a breath of fresh air. Both grounded in reality and unapologetically romantic, "Weekend" is an all too familiar depiction of the gay male experience.

Two young men who from vastly different backgrounds with very different life goals are already at odds with the idea of "relationship." It is hard to tell if both or one is concerned with "buying into" into the current idea of assimilation or are just not sure that monogamy makes sense within the human DNA.

The one thing that does shine through is that each of these men are lonely. Whether than can articulate it -- both have tired of meaningless sex and one-night stands. Yet, those encounters are the only ones that offer any sense of intimacy.

Born from what we perceive will be a one night stand, these two men form a romantic, erotic and intellectual connection that neither can ignore. Tom Cullen and Chris New provide amazingly quiet and realistic performances. Nothing feels false or overly emotional.

In the end we do not know where this connection will lead. That isn't important. What matters is that both of these men fully realize that a once easy solution is no longer that easy. It is a decision filled with importance.

Brilliant film that while set in the world of two gay men, still bears universal relevance. Because at the end of the day, these two gay men are not that much different from single young heterosexuals.

Welcome to Equal Rights. It is a major victory, but like all victories it comes with a price. Societal pressures are no longer working against LGBT communities as much as they are now shifting into a culturally shared expectation of marriage, children and a picket fence.