What shocked me the most about this film is that I was also born in 1977 and was just coming out at university in 1998. I could totally identify with the young innocent Matthew walking along the street seeming slightly embarrassed behind his new gay friends from university. I did many a similar thing and what gets me is that I too could have been killed. But at the time, I felt free as a bird and like my life could not get any better. Thats what gives me the chills - it could have happened to me. It still could happen. Its frightening.
I was swept away by his relationship with Pablo; the stolen kiss; the painting; the play. I cried when after he was raped, Matthew came out to his mother, and she said, "I know". It was all too familiar, how his mum saw the photos on the wall and suspected he was gay. I watched the film with my mum the other day, and it reminded us of the time when mum suspected I was gay, and she said to me, "a mother always knows these things". How true.
The movie is well made, I actually enjoyed the flashbacks rather than having it presented in sequential order. It will be repeated on FOXTEL here in Sydney this month (Jan 07) and I will be taping it. Special praise is due to the actor who played Matthew and his parents.
Ultimately, the movie gets my thumbs up because, as you can see, it reminded me a lot of my coming out experience and my younger days when I began exploring the big gay world. I'm thankful I am still here to remember it, and I deplore what happened to Matthew. Poor Matthew and poor parents. :-(
I was swept away by his relationship with Pablo; the stolen kiss; the painting; the play. I cried when after he was raped, Matthew came out to his mother, and she said, "I know". It was all too familiar, how his mum saw the photos on the wall and suspected he was gay. I watched the film with my mum the other day, and it reminded us of the time when mum suspected I was gay, and she said to me, "a mother always knows these things". How true.
The movie is well made, I actually enjoyed the flashbacks rather than having it presented in sequential order. It will be repeated on FOXTEL here in Sydney this month (Jan 07) and I will be taping it. Special praise is due to the actor who played Matthew and his parents.
Ultimately, the movie gets my thumbs up because, as you can see, it reminded me a lot of my coming out experience and my younger days when I began exploring the big gay world. I'm thankful I am still here to remember it, and I deplore what happened to Matthew. Poor Matthew and poor parents. :-(