Beautiful Thing (1996)

Director:

Hettie Macdonald

Writers:

Jonathan Harvey (play)
Jonathan Harvey (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

An urban fairytale.

Plot:

In a suburb of London, young Jamie is escaping sport hours, to avoid being the victim of his comrades. Young Ste, his neighbor, is beaten by his father, and comes to sleep overnight. They discover new feelings, sleeping in the same bed.

Plot Keywords:

Gay Character | Working Class | Bare Butt | Gay Lead Character | Homosexual Scene

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Linda Henry	...	Sandra Gangel
Meera Syal	...	Miss Chauhan
Glen Berry	...	Jamie Gangel
Martin Walsh	...	Mr. Bennett
Steven M. Martin	...	Ryan McBride
Scott Neal	...	Ste Pearce
Tameka Empson	...	Leah Russell
Andrew Fraser	...	Jayson
Ben Daniels	...	Tony
John Savage	...	Lenny
Julie Smith	...	Gina
Jeillo Edwards	...	Rose
Anna Karen	...	Marlene
Garry Cooper	...	Ronnie Pearce
Daniel Bowers	...	Trevor Pearce

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, pervasive strong language and some drug content.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:12 | Italy:T | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Anchor Pub, Rotherhithe, London, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

Cameo: [Jonathan Harvey]screenwriter appears as the Wheelchair Queen in the scene in the Gloucester pub.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sandra's handbag, after she gets home.

Quotes:

Ste: [reading magazine] You cannot transmit the HIV virus by frottage.
Ste: What's frottage?
Jamie Gangel: It's yogurt. It's French.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Schau mir in die Augen, Kleiner (2007)

Soundtrack:

Move in a little closer baby

Feel-good, positive film

This is one of those great British dramas set in a typically grim environment but shot with positivity throughout. Having grown up around the area in the film and being only a few years older than the featured boys, it was a joy to see life there depicted in the film.

I agree with all previous comments about the actors and how true-to-life it feels. Although slightly exaggerated in places, this film is a great comment on London working class life as well as being focused around a gay-based storyline.

However, I wanted to add that this film also comments on the complex class system in the UK which explains why Tony was dropped by Sandra. Many non-British viewers may not have picked up on this. Thoughout, Tony is shown as a middle class character who doesn't really fit into the working class environment. He uses different slang words to the others, has a 'posher' accent and has slightly different attitudes to all the other characters. He and Sandra come from different worlds. As Sandra says, she has been fighting all her life, whereas he has had evertyhing given to him on a plate. Ultimately, this relationship was never going to last. Life in London (and the UK) is still spilt into different social classes, although they do mix a little more than they used to. But you can often tell where someone is from by their accent and their choice of words. This was used to great affect in the film.

Overall, a light-hearted look at life on a London council Estate with some great performances... one of my favourite films.