[8]

This British independent flick is a far better gay ‘coming out’ movie than most. Glen Berry plays Jamie, a teenager who skips school to avoid harassment during gym class, and Scott Neal plays Ste, Jamie’s next door neighbor. When Ste’s father and brother get particularly abusive, he asks to stay over night with Jamie — and you can probably guess what happens from there. But you know what? Beautiful Thing plays out with an earnestness that makes it endearing. The two young actors feel natural and believable in their roles, and unlike other ‘coming’ out’ stories that focus on the inner turmoil of the experience, this one doesn’t get ingratiating. Instead, director Hettie Macdonald and author Jonathan Harvey keep the conflict centered on relationships within the two boys’ families. Linda Henry gives the film’s best performance as Jamie’s mother. She strikes a fine balance between being fierce and loving, and takes the character through a believable progression of emotions when she discovers her son is gay. Other supporting players may stick in your craw and you’ve gotta brace yourself for a soundtrack filled with Cass Elliott and the Mamas and the Papas, but the cheese factor ends there. Sincere ‘coming out’ movies are a tough sub-genre to pull off convincingly. I dare say this is one of the best.