Yesterday I caught a matinee of Andrew Haigh's Weekend. This small film, shot in Notthingham, England, follows an extended one-night stand between 2 seemingly mismatched 20-somethings. Tom Cullen is hopelessly adorable as Russell, a stoner jock with a funky apartment filled with second hand store furnishings. Chris New is a prickly hipster, guarding his vulnerability & attraction to Russell. The actors' chemistry is frighteningly convincing & their reactions to one another always look completely spontaneous. Their relationship is a series of drug & alcohol fueled conversations punctuated with sex, & we are not encouraged to think this can go anywhere. However, the story has a beautifully prepared-for ending which is sweet & romantic & took me totally by surprise. I also liked the realistic domestic scenes depicting the friends who function as Russell's family & who turn out to be far less peripheral than he thinks. The movie is attractively photographed, sometimes with a narrow range of focus, & Nottingham has a stark beauty in the pale light of early winter.§ Weekend
UK, 2011 - 96 mins
Andrew Haigh, dir
§ Movie still: Quinnford & Scout
2 comments:
I love the phrase "hopelessly adorable." I've read about the movie and will be sure to rent the DVD. Just watched "Undertow," the Peruvian gay weepie that also includes "hopelessly adorable" characters. It was totally effective and surprising.
Thanks for admiring my finely crafted wording :) Of course the knowledgeable Entartete was quick to let me know that the actor Tom Cullen is actually straight.
I hadn't heard of Undertow before, but it looks gorgeous. I now wish I'd caught it in the theaters.
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