Bumper cars

Weekend

Crit

I'd like to be able to describe this as an intense, heartbreaking tale of an affair circumscribed by the titular time period, between a romantic who is repressed and a repressed romantic, without using the word gay. But in fact the g-word is central, as the conveniently parentless Russell (Tom Cullen) is only semi-out ("All my friends know--well, my close friends"), while Glen (Chris New) is politically insistent on confronting the straight world with the injustice of its privilege.

But as the telescoped limit of their time together accelerates the pair's intimacy (an acceleration that somehow manages not to be incredible), the bullshit calling becomes more balanced. The unabashedly romantic Russell comes to recognize that Glen's politics, sincere though they are, have also become a defense mechanism against anything as conventional as love.

A beautiful film, beautifully written and acted, and no qualification is necessary for that assessment.