Holding the Man (2015)

Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the rugby team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance ... See full summary »

Director:

Neil Armfield

Writers:

Tommy Murphy (screenplay), Timothy Conigrave (book)

Stars:

Ryan Corr, Sarah Snook, Francesco Ferdinandi

6 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Corr	...	Timothy Conigrave
Sarah Snook	...	Pepe Trevor
Francesco Ferdinandi	...	Italian Waiter
Craig Matthew Stott	...	John Caleo (as Craig Stott)
Lee Cormie	...	Eric
David Woods	...	Drama Teacher Chook Hennessey
PiaGrace Moon	...	Prue
Tegan Higginbotham	...	Gina
Josh Burton	...	Derge (as Joshua Burton)
Andrew S. Gilbert	...	Father Wallbridge
Mason Viola	...	Paul Caleo (15 years)
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Bob Caleo
Camilla Ah Kin	...	Lois Caleo
Luke Christopoulos	...	Chris Caleo (13 years)
Kerry Fox	...	Mary Gert Conigrave

Storyline

Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the rugby team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance endured for 15 years to laugh in the face of everything life threw at it - the separations, the discrimination, the temptations, the jealousies and the losses - until the only problem that love can't solve tried to destroy them.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | aids | gay kissing | gay rights | male frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

A love story for everyone

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Guy Pierce who plays Tim's conservative father in this film portrayed a flamboyant drag queen In another Australian film The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert.

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Goofs

In 1985, as Tim interviews an HIV patient named Richard, a copy of OUT magazine is seen on the table under the tape recorder. OUT was first published in 1992.

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Quotes

Timothy Conigrave: [to John] I should have worked harder to make you come.
[Girls laugh]
Timothy Conigrave: Is there a problem?
[Girls laugh harder]

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Crazy Credits

There is a snippet of a recording with writer Tim Conigrave, and a photo of Tim and John together, after the last film credit.

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Connections

References 9 to 5 (1980)

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Soundtracks

Dreaming
Written by Chris Stein (uncredited) and Debbie Harry (uncredited)
Performed by Blondie

User Reviews

Simply one of the best love stories-- and not just gay stories I have seen.

I am a bit of a hard ash when it comes to rating and reviewing movies, and this movie hit all of the marks for me. It was sublime, and had me literally sobbing toward the end.

Being from America, I was not familiar with the book or the story, and in fact, only got the movie because of the cover art. I wasn't really looking for a movie that dealt with the early days of HIV/AIDS, and in fact, tend to steer clear of them because they are usually done so poorly, but HTM deals with it not only realistically, but with great humanity. In the end, the movie isn't about the disease, but the love these two men shared.

And what a love it must have been. Most of us could only ever hope for a love like that, and never actually find it. In that regard, it reminds me of Bridegroom. Both of those films leave you with the hope that fairy tale love really can exist in the real world.

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 August 2015 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Holding the Man

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$767,038

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Australia, Goalpost Pictures, Snow Republic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1