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...
Connor lives with his drunk abusive father and his sister who will soon be a cop. When his father catches him kissing another boy, he is thrown out. Before you know, Connor becomes a hustler satisfying older men. We have a parallel second story of Milton, who is obviously gay, which doesn't go down well with his very religious parents. He has a crush on a classmate who doesn't return Milton's advances. His family is blown apart soon. A few years later, we see that Milton has now violent impulses and he kills men who do not reciprocate to his advances. And Connor, while trying to live off his prostitution, accidentally kills a man. Before you know these 2 men are drawn to each other for want of company and comfort which soon turns deadly for both of them.
The film is probably trying to show how bad parenting and extreme religious fanatism can destroy the souls of the young, no matter their orientation. Unfortunately the treatment of the subject is so dated, that you cant help and just roll your eyes at the ridiculousness of everything thats unfolding on screen in front of you. Milton is a nerd, struggling with sexuality and being rejected eventually leading to become a killer. In an ideal scenario this role can give an actor an excellent opportunity but neither the actor or the director use this. It was just stupid. And let's talk about the dialogues. OMG! They were so basic. Every dialogue coming out of the sister's mouth was like has it been written by a 10 year old. Could no one had spend some time in at least putting an effort to make this a better product?
Just for the fact that the makers attempted to tell a different story, this film can get a ranking, but the treatment is pure garbage with over the top reactions and guys in their late 20s being passed off as high school boys. (3/10)
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