This one's a beautiful, tender, quiet romantic drama with a moody atmosphere, set in a tight knit Welsh fishing community. It's a touching story about a man waking up sexually in the middle of his life, and how he, his family, and everyone around him deal with it, which makes it emotional and sentimental without ever getting over the top. The slow burn plays out against a landscape that's as bleak as it is gorgeous, where quiet, closed off men are stuck inside rigid ideas of what masculinity should be. Some people might be reminded of "God's Own Country," but I think both films are lovely in their own way. Jack is a middle aged guy who co-owns a mussel farm with his rough around the edges brother Dyfan, and the tension between the two of them is simmering under the surface right from the start. Dyfan's three sons all help out with the work, while Jack's sulky teenage son Tom keeps skipping out. Jack's been with his wife since they were both 16, and...
Hank is now taking the week long cruise alone, because his best friend had a last minute family emergency. Aboard, he meets Kurt, vacationing with his wife. Since Kurt's wife is sea-sick, the two men hang out all the time, and there is some connection. At the end of day 1, Kurt ends up in Hank's room and they both have sex. Thankfully, the next morning is not about guilt or snubbing but taking it one day at a time. Hank is not sure, why Kurt os doing this and if he is just a vacation fling. But on the other hand, Hank is also here to get over his ex, but his increasing attraction towards Kurt is something that he really doesn't want to happen. Kurt's wife eventually gets better and join the two of them but still afraid of getting off the ship. This gives the two men enough opportunity to hang out and in fact have a heart to heart conversation. They both like each other and have great chemistry and want more from life. Only if it was that simple. Just when Kurt is starting to make up his mind about leaving his wife, he finds out that she is pregnant. Also we find out that this is not the first time that he is having flings with men and that his wife has always been aware of that. It is decision time and Kurt decides he would change his ways and wants to be a good husband and have a family. Hank respects his decision and they both decide to keep in touch as friends.
To be honest, I was slightly disappointed by the ending. In the long run, I really doubt that Kurt will be able to stay faithful to his wife but who am I to judge. Besides that things about the movie were pretty on and off. Production wise, this film seems to have been shot with a hand held camera or even an iphone over an actual 7 day cruise. If that is in fact true, then I have to say that acting was very very goodby all principal characters but the feeling of watching a film was amiss, which personally bothered me. There were way too many close-ups and the audio was bad but thats understandable given that it was probably shot in sync-sound. The acting was solid and thankfully there were not random side stories to take our attention away from core issue of sex, attraction and finding love in most unexpected situations and places. I wish, Kurt's wife's character was a bot detailed because in all this, she seemed to get a raw deal because you never sympathize with her character which I would have preferred, especially given how the maker wanted to story to end.
Its slow in beginning but eventually picks up. Audio is also an issue. But its not a bad film at all. Keep your expectations low. It's not exactly a feel-good movie, but it does bring to mind differing aspects of gay/bi romances. (6/10)
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