Beautiful Thing [DVD] [1996]

A grim, gritty South London housing estate makes an unlikley setting for a romantic fairy-tale, but Hetti MacDonald's gay teenage love story all but brings it off. Adapted by screenwriter Jonathan Harvey from his own stage play, Beautiful Thing tells how teenage loner Jamie falls for next-door neighbour Ste, one of the tough kids who bullies him at school. Amazingly, he finds his feelings reciprocated, and the two progress to a tender, tentative affair. Sidestepping conventional notions of working-class homophobia, the film succeeds in presenting its central relationship not as anything startlingly different, but simply as a teenage romance--with all the joy and heartbreak it implies--that happens to be between two 15-year-old guys. Problems of brutality and deprivation are acknowledged but never allowed to dominate, and under the influence of love even the harsh walkways and terraces of the estate take on a sunlit glow. --Philip Kemp

DVD Special Features: Interactive menus
Scene Index
Theatrical Trailer
Biographies

Language: English, Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
Video aspect ratio: Feature - 16:9 Anamorphic

The offbeat, underachieving denizens of a South East London apartment building get an emotional wake-up call when two of the neighbors--two teen boys--unexpectedly fall in love. Beautiful Thing--adapted from the play by Jonathan Harvey--features tender-hearted, kitchen sink realism from Channel Four Films.

A long hot summer on a housing estate in South London. Jamie is bunking off school, whilst his mother Sandra juggles job promotion and her relationship with hippy-dippy boyfriend Tony. Next door lives sassy Leah, who spends her day listening to Mama Cass records. In the same block, Jamies class mate Ste, although sporty and popular at school, is bullied by his drunken father. One day, Ste seeks refuge in Sandra's flat and ends up sleeping head to toe with Jamie.... Hettie Macdonald's delightful feature debut charts the seemingly unlikely romance between Jamie and Ste, from first nervous glances to ingenious use of Peppermint Foot Lotion!