Weekend

Sure, it’s a bit like a gay Before
Sunrise set in London, but more emotionally and intellectually challenging
if, thankfully, not as conventionally romantic. The quiet, reserved Russell
(Tom Cullen) lives alone in a small high-rise flat, which is where he brings
the chatty Glen (Chris New) after picking him up at a club. What both assumed
was a one-night stand becomes something else the next morning when Glen pulls
out a recorder to interview Russell —about life, love and everything in
between. What follows is a weekend-spanning tête-à-tête involving two out men who
lead very different lives, and what’s modestly revelatory about writer-director
Haigh’s second feature is how comfortable it is with being mundane. Weekend is a disarmingly candid snapshot of that moment when two people realize their
feelings for each other run deeper than desire, that wonderful and frightening
limbo when you’re willing to be utterly candid and honest with this brand new
person and maybe freaking out a little bit about why he or she is interested in
you in the first place.

Showing at the Landmark Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-263-2111.

This article appears in Oct 12-18, 2011.