Review: Weekend
We've all seen love stories that make us wish we had the chance to be as happy as all of the beautiful people on the magnificent big screen. Often times the stories are cheesy, way too impossible to ever happen, or simply too perfect to ever happen to anyone, much less you. Andrew Haigh's film Weekend tells a (sort of) love story between two guys over who meet over a weekend hookup in October in England. It's a seemingly honest look at a burgeoning relationship between two gay men and the issues and/or topics that come up for discussion as they contemplate going public.
Russell (Tom Cullen) goes out to a gay club one night after hanging out with his straight friends and he catches the eye of Glen (Chris New). Fast forward to the next morning where Glen very enthusiastically wants to chat about the night they just shared, while Russell is very sheepish about it.
There isn't much of an inciting incident, and Weekend is driven purely by dialogue. It all almost seems improvised, adding to the film's authentic. Ultimately these two characters are human beings who happen to be gay. Even though Russell is out of the closet he's still not comfortable with showing public affection, and even though Glen is obviously comfortable with his sexuality the idea of love or having a boyfriend isn't something he'll ever consider. What Andrew Haigh does a great job with is that these characters aren't rom-com stereotypes that we've seen in gay characters before. They're not even really stereotypes of heterosexual characters that we've seen in rom-coms before, and that level of authenticity in a film about the everyday struggles of finding new love is refreshing.
General audiences may not adapt to Weekend. It will be too easily perceived by many as "edgy," but the only edgy thing about this film is that it chose to take the subject of a gay relationship between two men and didn't sugarcoat their intimacy. Anyone who thought Brokeback Mountain was extreme will find this outright vulgar. That's an unfortunate occurrence that will no doubt be labeled to this film and it's a shame. Weekend should be looked at as a fresh and unique take on love in the 21st century. Those who enjoy seeing the point where a relationship starts will enjoy this take on the modern club hookup.