Perhaps this theme has been told in several different ways, but its message remains relevant and worthy. However, to see, sense, feel, and experience the trials and tribulations of the past when it was ‘illegal’ to be homosexual (gay) still resonates today and bears being repeated lest we slip back into thinking that the good old days were somehow a Golden Age. They were not.

The story starts as a chance encounter between two men in the late 1950s. One is a policeman named Tom (played by Harry Styles as the young Tom and Linus Roach as the older Tom) and the other is a Curator at a museum named Patrick (played by David Dawson as the younger Patrick and Rupert Everett as the older Patrick). Unexpectedly, Tom is drawn to Patrick and as much as he does not want to admit it, finds him tantalizing to be with and is sexually attracted to him. None of this of course is necessarily conscious to Tom. While Patrick is gay, Tom is ‘straight’. He has a burgeoning relationship with a schoolteacher named Marion (played by Emma Corrin as the younger Marion and Gina McKee as the older Marion). At the same time, as Tom is falling in love with Patrick, he also falls in love with Marion and the three begin an odd friendship. Tom and Patrick pretend to be merely friends but Marion, perhaps on a subconscious level, feels something is slightly off. Although Tom and Marion get married, the relationship between Tom and Patrick simply intensifies more and becomes conveniently compartmentalized.

Marion by accident sees the two of them embracing and wants to salvage their marriage as she begins to realize that the two of them are in love. Unfortunately, Patrick is ‘outed’ and is found guilty of sexual perversion and is sentenced to 2 years in prison. Tom is fired as a policeman but manages to find another job. Tom vows never to mention Patrick’s name again and emphatically tells Marion he is in love with her.

This façade goes on for decades until Marion finds out that Patrick has had a debilitating stroke and needs a place to stay and offers their house. And thus begins the second journey of Tom and Patrick’s relationship.

This movie has exceptional acting and while the story is not new, comes across as new. Mainly due to the chemistry between Harry Styles and David Dawson together. They made this story feel real and the relationship between the two men was intense, yet just distant enough to make it acceptable. When they were together publicly, it was quite discreet and proper but behind closed doors, raw, passionate, lustful, and very intimate. Unquestionably they were in love. Yet who personified the pain, anguish, and realism of the moment was Gina McKee as the older Marion. She brought a quiet force to the role as she reads Patrick’s old diaries about how he felt about Tom. While taking decades to put into words how she is and feels, she finally confronts Tom with the realization that she has had enough and is leaving. Their love for each other is lost and has been gone for a long time. She now can accept that the love that Tom has for Patrick is much stronger than any bond they have or ever had. And she leaves. As she departs, you can see on her face a sense of closure and a small degree of forgiveness for her role in the destruction of their relationship.

We see at the end a poignant moment when Tom finally enters Patrick’s room and touches him in the same manner as when they first met. Patrick lights up, smiles, and gently holds his hand. I was profoundly moved by this simple basic gesture and its meaning. Tears streamed down my face. I felt that scene.

This story says more in mannerisms and gestures than it does in words. While homosexuality is not accepted in all countries, in many places it has gotten better. But if you want to understand and sense what it is like to be oppressed and then wonder how you could live like that, then this is your movie. You can get a ‘feel’ of what it was like without having to experience it. I do hope you get to discern their pain and consequently, the pain of others who are still oppressed by the bigotry of others, be they by society or governments, about who and how to love. I hope you weep as much as I do.

More importantly, I hope you can empathize with their pain, even just a little. And then grieve some more. We must learn to envisage a better world for all.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Streaming on- Prime Video

Edited by- Dee