Weekend (2011)

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.

Director:

Andrew Haigh

Writer:

Andrew Haigh

Stars:

Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race

22 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

On a Friday night after a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club, alone and on the pull. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. That weekend, in bars and in bedrooms, getting drunk and taking drugs, telling stories and having sex, the two men get to know each other. It is a brief encounter that will resonate throughout their lives. Weekend is both an honest and unapologetic love story between two guys and a film about the universal struggle for an authentic life in all its forms. It is about the search for identity and the importance of making a passionate commitment to your life.

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Plot Keywords:

fellatio | male nudity | nudity | coming out | nightclub | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Amor de Fim de Semana

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

£120,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,245, 25 September 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$455,459, 20 November 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bureau, The, EM Media, Glendale Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2012 the film received a prestigious Criterion Collection release on DVD and Blu-Ray.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Russell: I moved around in foster homes until I was about sixteen.
Glen: [softly] Mm-hm. Fuck.
Russell: Met my best mate there, Jamie, when we were twelve. Erm yeah, it was nice, we just went around as a pair.
Glen: Fucking hell. What was it like?
Russell: What?
Glen: Being "in care".
Russell: It was fine. I mean, I wasn't abused or anything.
Glen: Shame, you should've got a refund. Do they know about you?
Russell: Who?
Glen: Jamie?
[...]

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Connections

References Notting Hill (1999)

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Soundtracks

Atlantis
Written by Tim Barker
Performed by Sawtooth

User Reviews

Simply wonderful

Just back from seeing Weekend at a mainstream cinema in London and simply wanted to say that the other reviewers here have hit the nail on the head perfectly. This film is literally flawless - so real, so well acted, naturalistic dialogue spoken utterly naturally. It captured my 20s in a bottle. Thank you to all involved. I'd forgotten cinema could be this fantastic. I liked the fact that the film's location was kept anonymous - most appropriate, given that the film was so accurately observed and depicted that it could have been about many of my friends, all over the UK. Some excellent cinematography too - lingering shots of a normal British city, captured at sunset/mid-afternoon/anytime, worked well at keeping the pace reflective. Finally, the moments of passion were handled sensitively, but, again, so realistically. One particularly stunning moment was the cut away and sudden fast forward to the morning - somehow capturing instantly the bleak moment that follows ecstasy, but doing it in a non-showy way. I will be watching for more of Andrew Haigh's work.