Beautiful Thing

(British)

A Film Four Distribution release (in U.K.) of a Channel Four Films presentation of a World Production. (International sales: Film Four Intl., London.) Produced by Tony Garnett, Bill Shapter. Directed by Hettie Macdonald. Screenplay, Jonathan Harvey, based on his play.

Sandra Gangel ... Linda Henry
Jamie Gangel ... Glen Berry
Ste Pearce ... Scott Neal
Tony ... Ben Daniels
Leah ... Tameka Empson

Ken Loach meets Mike Leigh in "Beautiful Thing," an often rough-and-ready but infectiously funny working-class comedy, with a feel-good gay theme, set in a southeast London housing project. Fresh performances from a largely unknown cast make this low-budget version of Jonathan Harvey's 1994 off-West End legit hit a potential specialty earner with careful handling and good reviews.

Pic, which also unspools at this year's AFM, had buyers scrambling for their cell phones in the Berlin market and is rumored to be a contender for a spot in the sun at Cannes. Its world preem is set for March 28 in the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

Set during one long, hot summer, the story turns around three families who live side by side on the same walkway in the tough Thamesmead Estate. Cockney single mom Sandra (Linda Henry), manager of a local bar, is hooked up with hippie painter Tony (Ben Daniels) and trying to cope with the growing pains of her teenage son, Jamie (Glen Berry). Next door, Jamie's pal, Ste (Scott Neal), is abused by his older brother and alcoholic father. On the other side lives acid-tongued Leah (Tameka Empson), a black girl who thinks she's Mama Cass, and her long-suffering mother.

Opening reels set up the characters with some deliciously witty (and four-letter) Cockney repartee as they chat and feud on the open-air corridor outside their cramped apartments. The plot gradually coalesces when Ste, fleeing his dysfunctional family, stays over one night at Jamie's flat, where the kids' initially innocent sharing of a bed turns into a life-changing homosexual encounter.

Next day, the sporty Ste has second thoughts about the happening, not helped by Leah's rumor-mongering that the two boys are closet gays. But their clandestine visit to a gay bar seals the relationship, leaving only Sandra and Leah -- in a warm and fairy-tale-like finale that has to be seen to be believed -- to be won over.

Though the movie is gay-themed, its broad range of personalities and light, straight-faced comic style positions it well outside the usual viewing ghetto for such pics. At heart, it's a working-class dramedy with a couple of gay characters, propelled by a sense of humor that comes as much from its noncorrect approach to the subject as from its one-liners. U.S. tradesters at its packed Berlin market screenings were unfazed by either the London slang or dry Brit humor, despite a dialogue track that would benefit from greater clarity.

In her first stint behind the camera, theater director Hettie Macdonald, who helmed the original stage play, doesn't bring much shape or rhythm to the material, delivering what could politely be called a verismo-looking TV movie. With such loosely structured material, however, the lack of cinematic styling becomes virtually a style in itself: The pic has a gauche, ambling charm that's like Loach's pioneering TV dramas of the '60s with laughs. It's no surprise to find the name of Tony Garnett (Loach's early partner, and a household name in the U.K. for dramatic realism on the tube) on the credits as one of the two producers.

TV semi-name Henry is just right as the tough, self-reliant mom with a soft center, and plays off well against Daniels, as her freeloading lover. Teenagers Berry, as the shy Jamie; Neal, as the handsome Ste; and Empson, as the wacky Leah, are nicely cast. All are students at London's Anna Scher Theatre.

Tech credits, apart from John Altman's warmly scored, chamber-like score, are unadorned. Several golden oldie songs, such as "You Are Sixteen,""It's Getting Better" and "Make Your Own Kind of Music," are used to funny and buoyant effect.

Camera (color), Chris Seager; editor, Don Fairservice; music, John Altman; production design, Mark Stevenson; art direction, Chrysoula Sofitsi; costume design, Pam Tait; sound (Dolby SR Digital), John Midgley; assistant director, Susie Liggat; casting, Gail Stevens, Andy Pryor. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (market), Feb. 21, 1996. (In London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.) Running time: 89 MIN.

With: Anna Karen, John Benfield, Jeillo Edwards, Daniel Bowers, Garry Cooper, Sophie Stanton, Julie Smith, Steven Martin, Catherine Sanderson, Liane Ware, Dave Lynn.

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