Beautiful Thing
Tags: queer, feel-good

Plot synopsis:
The story is set and filmed on Thamesmead, a working class area of South East London dominated by post-war council estates.
Jamie (Glen Berry), a teenager who is infatuated with his classmate, Ste, has to deal with his single mother Sandra (Linda Henry), who is pre-occupied with ambitious plans to run her own pub and with an ever-changing string of lovers, the latest of whom is Tony (Ben Daniels), a neo-hippie. Sandra finds herself at odds with Leah (Tameka Empson), a sassy and rude neighbour who has been expelled from school, does several drugs, and constantly listens and sings along to her mother's Cass Elliot records. While Jamie's homosexuality remains concealed, his introvert nature and dislike of football are reason enough for his classmates to bully him at every opportunity.
Ste (Scott Neal), who is living together with his drug-dealing brother and abusive, alcoholic father in the flat next door, is one night beaten by his brother so badly that Sandra takes pity and lets him sleep over. In the absence of a third bed, Ste has to make do with sleeping 'top-to-toe' with Jamie. On the second night they share a bed: after a massage and a minor conversation, the boys soon change sleeping arrangements and Jamie kisses Ste for the first time.
The next morning, Ste panics and leaves before Jamie awakens, avoiding him for days. Jamie works up the nerve to steal a Gay Times from a newsagent, apparently starting to accept his sexuality and affection for Ste. Jamie finally spots Ste at a nearby party and confronts him; they prepare to leave together. The party ends badly, with Sandra taking vengeance on Leah for gossiping, who then threatens to 'spill the beans' about Ste and Jamie and confesses to having covered up for Ste in front of his father and brother. Ste reacts poorly, angrily rejecting Jamie and running away.
Slowly, Ste accepts Jamie's love and their relationship begins to develop as they visit a gay pub together. Sandra follows them and discovers their secret, and the film reaches its climax as a bad trip by Leah (on an unnamed drug) precipitates Sandra's breakup with Tony; the news of Sandra's new job comes out; and Sandra confronts Ste and Jamie. Sandra comes to accept her son's relationship.
The film ends with the two boys slow-dancing in the courtyard of their council flats to the Cass Elliot song "Dream a Little Dream of Me", while a guarding Sandra dances defiantly at their side with Leah as the local residents look on; some of them shocked, some of them strongly disapproving; and some of them enjoying the moment themselves.

Review: The young actors that play Jamie and Ste do an extraordinary job sometimes forgetting how well they pull off such complex characters throughout the movie.
This movie makes me smile on every level...from the way the two boys discover their affection for one another, the wonderful comedy relief from the next door neighbor Leah (and her relationship with the entire tenement population), and the perfect choice of soundtrack music from Mama Cass that, at times, seems written specifically for certain scenes and works on both a nostalgic and familiarity level.
This movie gets better with every viewing...and I'd love to see what happened to each of the characters in a sequal.This movie is, without a doubt, very personal to all gay men and women who came out during their youth and a favorite of all of my friends, both gay and straight..
Although slightly exaggerated in places, this film is a great comment on London working class life as well as being focused around a gay-based storyline.However, I wanted to add that this film also comments on the complex class system in the UK which explains why Tony was dropped by Sandra.
BEAUTIFUL THING is a unique drama - presenting an adolescent gay couple as complex individuals, within a greater setting (an English housing project) that also captures a bit of a slice-of-life feel.
I like the working-class setting, and wasn't bothered by the accents - as an American it required me to pay attention - a good thing as there are many subtle details that make this a very rich drama.It does tug at the heartstrings a bit, and it lays on the cuteness a bit more than it should, but I loved the characters anyway, and the setting and context (very nicely detailed film-making) keeps those minor gripes minor.There have been so many cynical or clichéd gay dramas released during the last decade or two, especially in the US (gay film from elsewhere in the world often seems so much more fresh and lifelike) - in many ways this film was (and remains) a real breath of fresh air..
The whole film is fantastic, for all areas, the hard-working, loving, caring single mother, the shy, nervous, unsure child, the popular but insecure, frightened, abused boy, the crazy neighbours, everything!The film has some amazing scenes in it, especially the scene in the woods with the music - makes me cry and smile every time, the two young lovers are just wrapped up in themselves with no care in the world and it really shows through the acting and reactions of the actors, who obviously have such chemistry about them - and the music as well was fabulous and so poignant.This is probably my second ranking film of this genre (possible my second favourite in all) the first goes to Get Real that applied more to me than this film did, though the film affected me in a similar way to Get Real.
Get Real changed my life, Beautiful Thing helped it along.I give this film a very good 9/10 (I never give 10 it may prevent others from trying to match or better it!).
This is an "excellent" romantic love story concerning two coming of age boys in gay accepting England.We found the movie to be both entertaining and moving.We own the movie on both VHS & DVD, that's how much we enjoy it.I would like to have seen a sequel to "Beautiful Thing", merely to have had the writer pick up the story after Sandra & Jamie moved to Sandra's Pub. The reason being, the movie ends giving the impression that Sandra took Ste along with her & Jamie, to live with them at Pub.I feel a sequel would carry on further with this point, along with how the boys relationship grew with time.
Gays need a positive light, as "Beautiful Thing" portrays.I was wondering if anyone else feels the same way concerning Ste moving with Sandra & Jamie.I can "HIGHLY" recommend this movie, as it is well done, and a touching story.Lea, adds much to the movie also.
It reveals a story of two young ordinary English boy trying to come out in a very conservative English period.This movie tells us that there is no such thing as -gay love or straight love-.
Heart-wrenching performances, a witty and sensitive (but never sappy) script, and characters so real they could walk off the screen: these aren't usually things to be found in gay-themed movies, but Beautiful Thing has all of them and more.
Where Brokeback Mountain left me devastated and believing happiness couldn't ever last (I will never watch it again), and Latter Days is a prime example of style over substance, Beautiful Thing makes me feel like love is out there and it's really worth fighting for.
It has stayed with me vividly and powerfully since I first saw it, and I continue to watch parts of it often.I don't know if Glen Berry or Scott Neal could have realized what an impact this film would have on some viewers, but I wish I could thank them for bringing such humanity, realism, and likability to the roles of Jamie and Ste. Linda Henry, too, in the brilliant role of Sandra, gives a performance worthy of an Oscar, and Sandra's boyfriend Tony (played perfectly by Ben Daniels) is hilarious and surprisingly endearing.
If you're gay or just a human being with empathy and understanding (and a good sense of humor -- the script is terribly clever and the film really benefits from multiple viewings), Beautiful Thing is an experience you should not miss.
It's a film I will cherish forever, enhanced by the music of Mama Cass Elliot (who was truly gifted and whose death was a great loss).Favorite scenes (though almost every scene is really a favorite): the "Make Your Own Kind of Music" chase in the woods (I may love this scene more than anything else ever), the bedroom scenes with Jamie and Ste, and the final sequence, (featuring Mama Cass's beautiful "Dream a Little Dream of Me") which I will not spoil -- I envy the first-time viewer, who is in for a huge treat.
I like to think that Jamie and Ste live on forever in the final shot, the future uncertain but the present a greater joy than they had ever known, their love a small but bright glimmer of hope in an otherwise gray world..
every time i watch this movie it makes me feel that after all the bad things we go trough in life for being gay is not that bad if you can find love and this movies is the best gay love story ever, i relate to it, it just moves every single cell in my body, just when i am down sad and blue takes me to a place i cant describe, makes me feel innocent and not soo complicated, cause thats how it was for me, it wasn't about a rainbow flag, gay outfits, gay this gay that, is just two kids on love..
Every now and then, when I'm in the mood to watch a sweet little gay romance, I dig out my VHS copy of "Beautiful Thing." The film has its flaws.
The two male leads aren't especially attractive (as would have been required if this had been an American production), but they make the romance so endearing that they somehow seem to get cuter as the film progresses.My great regret about this film--the thing that keeps me from enjoying it as un-self-consciously as I would like, and as the filmmakers presumably hope I would--is that closing scene where Ste and Jamie dance in the courtyard, ignoring the crowd around them.
Jamie's making foolish decisions in the reckless euphoria of coming out, but Sandra's there watching out for him, glaring at the crowd like a mother velociraptor, daring anyone to threaten her child.I've tried to explain the closing scene in all those ways.
But 'Beautiful Thing', Hettie MacDonald's sweet little movie, is lifted above mere cliché through the quirky humanity of its characters, and the atmospheric cinematography of the ugly-beautiful London overspill estate of Thamesmead.
Watching this film is a bit like being tickled--you know what is happening but you cannot control yourself.You will care about these people (sorry--characters: you will forget they are fictional).
On one hand, it's a nice little low budget film about two young boys coming to grips with their sexuality amidst a colorful cast of characters living in the same apartment building.
But on the other hand, I couldn't help but feel something was missing here.Being a gay male myself, I haven't delved very much into the world of gay cinema, but I will say I was pleased that nothing in this film seemed intent on exploiting homosexuals, which is the very thing that has kept me away from the genre most of the time.
The story unfolds in a very low-key manner, and for once I didn't feel as if the filmmakers were simply trying to cash in on the hordes of homosexuals out there that will pay to see anything they can relate to, not even realizing the filmmakers are just after their wallets.For a movie whose central feature is the evolving love story between two teenage boys, Jamie and Ste, I felt it was void of the usual pitfalls that plague most movies in this vein--thankfully, the clichés are kept to a bare minimum, and there's very little of what I like to call "Hollywood"-isms in the film, which I was grateful for.
The chemistry between the two male leads was what kept me watching the film, as I felt the writing and the casting were both spot on in this department.If anything leaves me humbled and a little puzzled, however, it has to be the film's focus on the other inhabitants of the apartment complex, mainly a vivacious black girl who is friends with the two leads, Jamie's mother and her new boyfriend, as well as Ste's father.
The bonding that Stu and Jamie find is rather beautiful and at times touching, the performances from the young actors brings a natural element to their on screen relationship.
The film doesn't portray stereotypes, nor does it present being gay negatively.The final scene is a stunning ending with Stu and Jamie dancing arm in arm in the square of the council estate though I did struggle with the idea of it happening on council estate!
I wish that there were more gay-themed films like this one - romantic in the best sense of the word and accessible to all with hearts open to love - to help counterbalance the usual portrayal of gay characters as superficial and self-absorbed.
This film is about two teenagers in a deprived neighbourhood coming out and falling for each other.Character development is excellent in the movie.
"Beautiful Thing" is an forthright look into the lives of two average young boys and their harsh life behind closed doors, giving us a modest story without romantic clichés or gimmicks.I was thoroughly prepared to like this film a lot, due to how many recommendations I've had from those who knew I favored practical and romantic films like "My Beautiful Laundrette".
I only just now finished "Beautiful Thing," and it seems the only words I can think to describe it best are "somewhat good/mostly OK." I had a good time watching it, and thought it was sweet and well-done, though there isn't much that stood out to me when standing back to look at the film from afar.I think one of the things that seemed the most lackluster is that I didn't feel satisfied with the amount of romance or tension between the lead two boys, which made it hard for me to be genuinely invested in how their futures did or didn't intertwine.
I think we can credit that to an overuse of comedic relief, which makes me think I might have liked this film a lot better if it were simply drama/romance."Beautiful Thing" does have an ending that is spectacularly sweet and homely, which is something unusual to find in films of this sort.
I love the way Jamie tried to help Ste like in the massage scene, the acting was so fantastic, you could almost see the emotion.
It shows the emotional side, the time of self-confusion, self-conflict and the time of questioning who you really are.I was really moved by this film, and have now watched it 5 times, and every time I watch it I love it more and more, and it still moves me every time.The last scene (which I obviously wont say what happens) is amazing, it really is the way the film should end in my eyes, and it made me feel good about myself, being a young gay guy myself.I really would recommend everyone to watch this film, I'm glad I've had thechance to watch an amazing piece of film, and I think everyone else should as well..
The script faults are an on-going mystery to me and I can never quite fathom the anomalies they pose - the rainbow colors and lights in the bedroom of a young boy who has just discovered he is gay, why the mother says that Ste might be happy living in a Greek island inhabited entirely by lesbians, why earlier in the movie in an altercation Jamie asks his Mum the question "How am I weird?" for no particular reason, the double take on "Do you have to use words like that?" only to get the joke right on the second take, and some rather abrupt looks and words between the two boys that feel out of context or inappropriate to the circumstances.
With the movie ending, we never know how Ste deals with his father's reaction to his public "coming out" by partnering Jamie in a dance on the common area of the housing development estate.
While other characters battle their own demons (a neighbor girl appears to be obcessed with her admiration for Mama Cass, another teenager is physically abused by an older brother and a drunken single dad, the main character's mom falls in and out of love with a string of boyfriends), the "star" eventually confesses his attraction to the boy who "sleeps over" whenever things get too rough at his own place.
The film attempts to portray a gay love story as something which isn't out of the ordinary and is a "beautiful thing".
I've already watched this movie for five times though I got it only for few days, It warms my heart.I realized that there still waits beautiful things for everyone, also for me.
The story is effortless to follow, but still requires the viewer to think and feel.This is not a film about homosexuality (though Ste and Jamie's relationship is quite touching.) In fact, this film has very little to do with homosexuality.
This story tells what a lot of gay teens across the world are going through, modern society is a cruel world and does not take likely to different sexually orientated people, but this film shows you that you shouldn't care what others think and that it should be what makes you happy, it is a beautiful film , anyone who watches it will be left with the heart warming urge to find someone like Steven and Jamie, congratulations to these amazing young boys , to me this film is flawless , it has changed my life completely.
I only just discovered this film after it being on late at night during the current films 4 life, Watched this video for the first time and i could not stop thinking about it constantly over and over again for the past 2 days, Its excellent and best movie I've seen for long time it is such a shame that glen berry (Jamie) dint get more work for this as i really wanted to see him now hes 32 rather than when he was 17.Personally i think its liked more by gay people rather than straight as most straight people are homophobic still but keep it to themselves.
The only way you can love yourself is if you see this film."Beautiful Thing" is right up there with "Get Real" as being excellent British films about gay school boys.
This is the background of Beautiful Thing where personages have to face different troubles every day; hope for a better life is always there, but poverty and addictions often hinder achieving it.The film is created with a warm feeling and support, and most actors (particularly Linda Henry as Sandra Gangel and Tameka Empson as Leah Russell) are good, but the course of events and the ending are not very realistic - bearing in mind the neighbourhood.
Jamie knows a good thing when he sees it and isn't about to let Ste get away.The point here is that being gay is not just about sex nor just about good looks, but about everything that is involved in a human relationship, about caring and understanding, about bonding and growing, about trust and sharing, and also about allowing each other a little space.Moreover there is a real chemistry on screen between these two actors, so much so that it is hard to believe they are just acting, which is true of very few gay movies.
But the film is brilliant in its own right - and better than the recent and much-compared-to "Get Real" (the other well-known British gay teen movie).
Keep in mind that the most realistic movie I've ever seen about a teenage boy coming to terms with his homosexuality is "Edge of Seventeen." I would recommend that for anyone who enjoyed "Beautiful Thing.".
Contains the most beautiful love scene I have ever seen on film.
In the end, this is a movie that makes us feel good about ourselves and cheering for the characters..