Rec: "Man in an orange shirt"
Nov. 1st, 2020 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sasha_featherI have been finding new things to watch via Tumblr gifsets. Occasionally I'll also follow the works of an actor or director. Where do you get ideas for things to watch?
"Man in an Orange Shirt" - TV miniseries, 2017
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6255500/
Source: local library DVD
I loved this so much?? It was so emotional; I really felt what was happening in my heart. I had to take multiple breaks to moderate the intensity of what I was feeling. I think it resonated for me because two of the main characters are queer and have anxiety. The acting is really wonderful.
There are 2 stories here, the first taking place just after WWII. Michael reconnects with an old friend during the war, an artist named Thomas. They fall in love and spend some wonderful days at Michael's cottage in the country. Sadly, Michael has a fiancee named Flora, and he goes back to his normal life and marries her.
There are a number of famous stories like this, where one man is more accepting of being queer, and the other goes off to get married to a woman and to lead a more socially-acceptable life-- think "Call me by your name"; sometimes I find this story annoying, but in this case it was so sensitively told. I got the feeling that Michael's anxiety was driving him: we see several times where he wants to do something, but just can't make himself do it. He genuinely cares about Flora, has known her for a long time, and relies on her, even when she finds out about his relationship with Thomas.
In the second part of the story, we meet Flora again when she is an old woman, in present day. She lives with her grandson Adam, whom she has raised.
Adam is a partly-closeted gay man who works as either a vet or vet tech. He hooks up with strangers on a Grindr-like app, but doesn't date. He meets a designer named Steve, and they form an instant connection. Adam hires Steve to help him assess and fix up the country cottage, which has fallen into disrepair.
Adam must deal with his own anxieties and with Flora's homophobia, and this was especially interesting because we see the source of her deep hurt. This film has sympathy for all its characters; none of them are villains; they are all complex and wounded people.
Wikipedia says: "The script and idea come from the British best-selling-author Patrick Gale, whose family history is the autobiographical core of the plot."
Content notes: A very old and beloved cat is euthanized due to old age; it's not graphic but is a plot point. There is drinking and rough sex. Plenty of homophobia on display, but it's treated as bad by the narrative.
"Man in an Orange Shirt" - TV miniseries, 2017
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6255500/
Source: local library DVD
I loved this so much?? It was so emotional; I really felt what was happening in my heart. I had to take multiple breaks to moderate the intensity of what I was feeling. I think it resonated for me because two of the main characters are queer and have anxiety. The acting is really wonderful.
There are 2 stories here, the first taking place just after WWII. Michael reconnects with an old friend during the war, an artist named Thomas. They fall in love and spend some wonderful days at Michael's cottage in the country. Sadly, Michael has a fiancee named Flora, and he goes back to his normal life and marries her.
There are a number of famous stories like this, where one man is more accepting of being queer, and the other goes off to get married to a woman and to lead a more socially-acceptable life-- think "Call me by your name"; sometimes I find this story annoying, but in this case it was so sensitively told. I got the feeling that Michael's anxiety was driving him: we see several times where he wants to do something, but just can't make himself do it. He genuinely cares about Flora, has known her for a long time, and relies on her, even when she finds out about his relationship with Thomas.
In the second part of the story, we meet Flora again when she is an old woman, in present day. She lives with her grandson Adam, whom she has raised.
Adam is a partly-closeted gay man who works as either a vet or vet tech. He hooks up with strangers on a Grindr-like app, but doesn't date. He meets a designer named Steve, and they form an instant connection. Adam hires Steve to help him assess and fix up the country cottage, which has fallen into disrepair.
Adam must deal with his own anxieties and with Flora's homophobia, and this was especially interesting because we see the source of her deep hurt. This film has sympathy for all its characters; none of them are villains; they are all complex and wounded people.
Wikipedia says: "The script and idea come from the British best-selling-author Patrick Gale, whose family history is the autobiographical core of the plot."
Content notes: A very old and beloved cat is euthanized due to old age; it's not graphic but is a plot point. There is drinking and rough sex. Plenty of homophobia on display, but it's treated as bad by the narrative.
