Weekend (2011/II)

Director:

Andrew Haigh

Writer:

Andrew Haigh (written by)

Release Date:

4 November 2011 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A (sort of) love story between two guys over a cold weekend in October.

Plot:

After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Gay Club | Weekend | Gay | One Night Stand

Awards:

17 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Tom Cullen	...	Russell
Chris New	...	Glen
Jonathan Race	...	Jamie
Laura Freeman	...	Jill
Loreto Murray	...	Cathy (as Loretto Murray)
Jonathan Wright	...	Johnny
Sarah Churm	...	Helen
Vauxhall Jermaine	...	Damien
Joe Doherty	...	Justin
Kieran Hardcastle	...	Sam
Mark Devenport	...	Straight Man in Bar (as Mark Davenport)
Steve Blackman	...	Straight Man in Bar
Julius Metson Scott	...	Paul
Martin Arrowsmith	...	Martin
Caroline Woolley	...	House Party Girl 1
Caroline Cawley	...	House Party Girl 2

Directed by
Andrew Haigh

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Andrew Haigh		written by

Produced by
Suzanne Alizart	....	executive producer
Rachel Dargavel	....	line producer
Tristan Goligher	....	producer
Claire Mundell	....	co-producer
Anna Seifert-Speck	....	executive producer

Original Music by
James Edward Barker		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Urszula Pontikos		(director of photography) (as Ula Pontikos)

Film Editing by
Andrew Haigh

Casting by
Kahleen Crawford

Production Design by
Sarah Finlay

Makeup Department
Jo Way	....	makeup artist: daily

Production Management
Michelle Burt	....	post-production manager
Yuen-Wai Liu	....	production manager
Robert Newlove	....	post-production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alex Mercer	....	first assistant director: daily

Art Department
Sam Ashby	....	artwork
Lorna Dunn	....	stand-by art director
Liam O'Keefe	....	art department assistant: daily
Andrew Oakes	....	graphics

Sound Department
Tim Barker	....	sound
Grant Bridgeman	....	sound effects editor
Steve Cookman	....	dubbing mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
David Agha-Rafei	....	first assistant camera
Xavier Amoros	....	first assistant camera: daliy
Aislinn Clifford	....	second assistant camera: daily
Ed Cooper	....	second assistant camera
Jeremy Fusco	....	first assistant camera: daily
Jon O'Neill	....	second assistant camera: daily
Angelika Padberg	....	gaffer
Barry Squires	....	first assistant camera: daily
Jenni Suitiala	....	electrician: daily
Rob Wheeldon	....	electrician: daily

Casting Department
Caroline Stewart	....	casting associate

Editorial Department
Jay Coquillon	....	digital intermediate producer
Tom Cushing	....	post-production coordinator
Pat Wintersgill	....	colorist
Pat Wintersgill	....	on-line editor
Yichen Wu	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Omar Alvarez	....	driver: daily
Owen Arnold	....	runner driver: daily
David Key	....	runner driver: daily
Ben Mealing	....	runner driver: daily

Other crew
Rebecca Barker-McLean	....	floor runner
Mickey Cottrell	....	publicist
Mark Durkin	....	head of finance: EM Media
Vincent Gadelle	....	financial controller: The Bureau
Emma Hewitt	....	public relations and marketing executive: EM Media
Dan Hodgett	....	location manager
Emily Lappin	....	head of communications: EM Media
Emily Morgan	....	production coordinator
Judit Stalter	....	intern: The Bureau
Matthew Whitney	....	location manager
James Williams	....	production runner

Thanks
Martin Arrowsmith	....	thanks
Andrew Dearnley	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Bureau, The
• EM Media (in association with)
• Glendale Picture Company
• Synchronicity Films (in co-production with)

Distributors

• Alberto Bitelli Intl. Films (2011) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Outplay (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Reel Pictures (2012) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Rialto Distribution (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Sundance Selects (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• GMfilms (2011) (Germany) (all media)
• Homescreen (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• IFC Films (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Outplay (2012) (Belgium) (DVD)
• PRO-FUN media Filmverleih (2012) (Austria) (TV)
• PRO-FUN media Filmverleih (2012) (Germany) (TV)
• PRO-FUN media Filmverleih (2012) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• PRO-FUN media Filmverleih (2012) (Switzerland) (TV)
• Peccadillo Pictures (2011) (UK) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2012) (Australia) (all media)

Other Companies

• Big Film Company  product placement
• Blue Planet  camera hire
• Media Insurance Brokers  insurance
• Molinare Studio  sound post production facility (as Molinare)
• Nimbus Lighting  lighting hire
• Quinnford & Scout  still photography
• Technicolor  picture post-production facility
• Veneration Music  score coordination

Also Known As:

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA15+ | New Zealand:R16 | USA:Not Rated | Denmark:11 | UK:18 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Nottingham Railway Station, Carrington Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Bureau, The

Trivia:

The lines the actors are snorting in the movie is actually just glucose powder.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Russell is anxiously waiting for Glen to arrive at the train station, the train announcements in the background indicate that the time is around 6.30pm, however in the next scene when both characters have gone through the barrier onto the platform, the background train announcements indicate the time time is now around 5pm.

Quotes:

Glen:Well, you know what it's like when you first sleep with someone you don't know?
Russell:Yes.
Glen:It's... you, like, become this blank canvas and it gives you an opportunity to project onto that canvas who you want to be. That's what's interesting because everybody does that.
Russell:So do you think that I did it?
Glen:'Cause you did. Well, what happens is while you're projecting who you want to be... this gap opens up between who you want to be and who you really are. And in that gap, it shows you what's stopping you becoming who you want to be.

Movie Connections:

References Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Soundtrack:

TC and Honeybear

The rare film about falling in love that gets to the heart of the matter

There are countless films about people falling in love, but when you see Weekend you realise just how rare films are that make a sincere attempt to catch what it really is like to fall for someone, without sentimentality, forced cuteness or cheap emotional manipulation. This is the rare love story that has real emotional truth about it. The fact that it is about two men who fall for each other is almost secondary to the way the film catches the universality of what it is like to fall in love. Weekend is not about exceptional people, just about two average, if smart and likable men, tentatively getting close to each other and it catches lightning in a bottle.

This is not to play down the importance of Weekend as a gay film. Gay issues are touched upon and some good political points are made about gay men in todays society, but it's never in a didactic way. Nothing here feels forced, there is a naturalness about the acting and dialogue, real chemistry between the two leads and a sense of lightness about the filmmaking that yet never feels trivial. Weekend catches the little moments of life beautifully and it finds beauty in the everyday.

The acting here is simply amazing from both leads but Tom Cullen as the more quiet, introverted Russell has a touching vulnerability about him and gives what I would regard as the best performance of the year by a male actor. It's all there in tiny details, there is never a moment when you don't utterly believe what goes on in his heart, it's all there in his eyes and the most subtle shifts of expression. No doubt this performance will be overlooked in favour of more histrionic turns this year, but this is what truly great screen acting is about. I think I fell a little bit in love with him myself.