Weekend

Weekend crept up on me. I went into the movie not expecting much—although I am a fan of romance, I had never found a gay romance I could truly connect with, probably because I was unable to easily see myself paralleled in the films, which, admittedly, is important for me when considering romance. And the beginning Weekend didn’t do much for me—I didn’t really like Russell, the protagonist, and I felt the cinematography was trying too hard with it’s shallow depth-of-field and reliance on mirrors to depict the divisive life of the modern gay man. However, as the movie progressed, I found myself forgetting my dislikes. In Russell and Glen’s short-lived, weekend-long love story I found more depth in the character of Russell; realized that the quiet, watchful shot-composition brought us–the viewers–into a closer relationship with the characters, as if we were leaning in and they were whispering to us; and realized that Weekend was not a gay love story, it was a love story. Well written, beautifully shot, truthfully acted, and—most importantly—emotionally pure, Weekend depicts love as what is should be: blind and un-ruled by the backwardness of society.

This poignant, truthful and soft-spoken approach to this sojournant love story bears resemblance to Lost in Translation, which is high praise indeed, especially as Weekend defies being merely imitative and branches out into new ground in it’s refreshing and truthful approach to love. Weekend is a movie that deserves to be seen.