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...
Max and Andi are a couple in college, but when Max decides to go to US for medical studies, she decides to break up with him because she doesn't believe in long distance relationships. 5 years later when he comes back home, he reaches out to Andi increasing her hope of getting back together but all her dreams are shattered when Max introduces her to his boyfriend, a fellow doctor Christian. Max convinces her that he i snot sure of he is gay but he knows that he loves Christian. 2 years later, the film gets in current time when Max and Christian have been together for 3 years and Andi is still struggling to get her events management business going. Christian is slightly controlling in the relationship and keeps pushing for the couple to adopt baby but Max is not sure, especially when his parents don't even know about him being gay. Around same time, Andi's boyfriend turns out to be a crook and she finds herself pregnant. She reaches out to her best friend Max for help and Christian sees this as an opportunity and they make a deal that the couple will adopt the baby and till then they will take care of all Andi's expenses. As expected, Andi sometimes longs for her ex-boyfriend; Max finds comfort remembering old days with Andi around and Christian is always worried if Andi is going to take his boyfriend away. Things go sour when finally the stress of relationships takes over and Max kisses Andi. Andi leaves home and Max and Christian decide to take a break. Sanity prevails soon and once the baby comes and a year later, everyone is happy in their space.
My big problem with this otherwise decent film is none of the characters are really sure what they are and what they want. Andi keeps telling herself she is over Max but secretly still longs at him. Max is still confused when Andi comes back in life whether he is gay or straight. When in one specific scene, he clearly says he is bi and its about person and not gender, the film could easily have gone to that route, instead of the cliche when Christian asks Max to pick either him or Andy. As an audience we are always confused as to who to empathize with, because all the characters are full of faults themselves but they expect perfection from the others. Some comedy scenes are over the top but I think thats a common scenario in filipino movies , so I will discount that for now. Max and christian's conflicts are cliché, and the solutions to their conflicts are grossly convenient and seemingly ill-suited. The last 10 minutes is so rushed when everything magically and very very conveniently comes along together. Max's parents are accepting, the couple is happy and even Andi is ok being a very good mother. It all felt very convenient. On the positive side, Max as an actor was good and very handsome to look at. His and Andi's chemistry was better than his with Christian.
As I mentioned before, had the film explored the topic of gender fluidity, as it was briefly mentioned, it would have been a lot more interesting. In current space, with some tighter editing, this film is strictly an average light watch. (5.5/10)
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