Like many Diy movements before it, Mumblecore opened up a lot of filmmakers to permission and possibilities—giving them the galvanizing necessary push to say to themselves, “Hey, I can do that!” Thank god, English filmmaker Andrew Haigh listened to that voice in his head. The filmmaker’s auspicious career started in the lo-fi Diy world (2009’s “Greek Pete”), and by his sophomore effort, the 48-hour romance interlude film “Weekend”—a strikingly authentic look at a gay male hookup which turns into something more— which caught fire at SXSW in 2011, the writer/director’s career was cemented.
Continue reading The Movies That Changed My Life: ’45 Years’ Filmmaker Andrew Haigh at The Playlist.
Continue reading The Movies That Changed My Life: ’45 Years’ Filmmaker Andrew Haigh at The Playlist.
- 4/17/2020
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
When a European director makes his or her first movie in the United States, you can pretty much rely on two things: the camera’s awe at the wide-open spaces and big skies, and a downbeat story of how the Land of Opportunity so often lets its most helpless citizens fall between the cracks.
So on the American Miserabilism shelf at your local shuttered video store, you can put Andrew Haigh’s powerful and poignant “Lean on Pete” alongside such other classics of the genre as Werner Herzog’s “Stroszek” and Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey.”
“Lean on Pete” calls to mind other greats as well — one imagines a pitch meeting where it was described as “The 400 Blows” meets “Wendy and Lucy” — but writer-director Haigh, working from the novel by Willy Vlautin, has his own way of telling this kind of story. While the film’s semi-picaresque, road-trip nature might seem antithetical to the maker of such intimate dramas as “Weekend” and “45 Years,” Haigh brings his gifts as a filmmaker with him to the great outdoors, always capturing little moments of character and emotion even in an expanse of seemingly infinite American desert.
Also Read: 'A Quiet Place' Film Review: Make Some Noise for John Krasinski's Nerve-Racking Horror Tale
Teenage Charlie (Charlie Plummer, “Boardwalk Empire”) has just moved to Portland, Oregon, with his ne’er-do-well dad Ray (Travis Fimmel). Mom is long-gone, and Charlie’s only other family is his loving aunt Margy (Alison Elliott, “20th Century Women”), who he hasn’t seen since childhood after she and Ray had a squabble about how he’s been raising Charlie. (When Charlie was 12, Ray left the boy alone for several days to spend time with a woman.)
Their new house is near a racetrack, and Charlie ingratiates himself with small-time horse owner Del (Steve Buscemi), working with him at the stable and traveling with him to seedy races on the state-fair circuit. Along the way, Charlie befriends Bonnie (Chloë Sevigny), a jockey who rides Del’s horses from time to time. Bonnie tries to tell Charlie that the horses aren’t pets, and that he shouldn’t get attached, but it’s too late — he’s already bonded with an aging Quarter Horse named Lean on Pete, even though the racer is coming to the end of his career, likely to be “sent to Mexico” (where horses can be legally slaughtered) once his use to Del has run out.
Also Read: 'Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana' Film Review: Neil Gaiman, George Romero and Others Reflect on Free Speech
When the husband of Ray’s latest conquest beats Ray bad enough to send him to the hospital, Charlie has to elude Family Services while still earning money to keep up the household. But as Ray’s condition worsens, and Lean on Pete seems destined to be destroyed, Charlie steals Del’s truck in an attempt to save the horse and to look for Margy in Wyoming.
As you might imagine, Charlie’s journey gets more and more bleak as he faces starvation, thirst and eventual homelessness. But while “Lean on Pete” certainly has its dark moments, and its 119 minutes seem like it’s never going stop throwing obstacles in Charlie’s way, there’s ultimately a sense of hope here, much of it being communicated by Plummer, in an extraordinary performance. There’s so little calculation or actorliness in his work that I thought Haigh had found a 15-year-old non-actor; I was surprised to learn after the fact that Plummer is an experienced pro with an ascendant career. (He’s about to play kidnap victim John Paul Getty III in Ridley Scott’s forthcoming “All the Money in the World.”)
Also Read: 'Tyler Perry's Acrimony' Film Review: Taraji P. Henson Is Furious, But Is She Right?
The anguish and determination that Plummer can display with just a look or subtle motion is heartbreaking; this is the kind of naturalistic acting that can just kick you in the stomach. He’s part of a strong ensemble: Buscemi’s Del makes an honest mentor, but he doesn’t sugarcoat the character’s darker side. (And it’s fun to see the easy chemistry between Buscemi and Sevigny: she starred in his feature directorial debut “Trees Lounge” two decades ago.) Steve Zahn turns up as a mercurial homeless man who offers Charlie some help along the way, and Elliott (an indie stalwart since her breakout role in “The Spitfire Grill”) radiates a warmth that makes you realize why finding Margy is worth Charlie’s Herculean effort.
Haigh adjusts to a different kind of storytelling here: “Weekend” was fairly dialogue-heavy (as was, to an extent, his little-seen debut “Greek Pete”), and unlike “45 Days,” he can’t substitute dialogue with a meaningful glance from Charlotte Rampling. Still, he manages a lot of quiet here — with the exception of some exposition dumps that Charlie gives the horse in conversation — and his storytelling is no less powerful. Danish cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Joenck (“A War”), also working in the States for the first time, collaborates with Haigh to place the characters into a very specific context, finding both beauty and horror in the American sprawl.
Your gut will be wrenched by “Lean on Pete,” but it’s also quite likely that your heart will be touched. It’s a powerful new entry for a director who is ever more deserving of attention, and it provides a spotlight for a talented young actor who would appear to be going places.
Read original story ‘Lean on Pete’ Review: Andrew Haigh’s Boy-and-His-Horse Tale Hits Hard At TheWrap...
So on the American Miserabilism shelf at your local shuttered video store, you can put Andrew Haigh’s powerful and poignant “Lean on Pete” alongside such other classics of the genre as Werner Herzog’s “Stroszek” and Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey.”
“Lean on Pete” calls to mind other greats as well — one imagines a pitch meeting where it was described as “The 400 Blows” meets “Wendy and Lucy” — but writer-director Haigh, working from the novel by Willy Vlautin, has his own way of telling this kind of story. While the film’s semi-picaresque, road-trip nature might seem antithetical to the maker of such intimate dramas as “Weekend” and “45 Years,” Haigh brings his gifts as a filmmaker with him to the great outdoors, always capturing little moments of character and emotion even in an expanse of seemingly infinite American desert.
Also Read: 'A Quiet Place' Film Review: Make Some Noise for John Krasinski's Nerve-Racking Horror Tale
Teenage Charlie (Charlie Plummer, “Boardwalk Empire”) has just moved to Portland, Oregon, with his ne’er-do-well dad Ray (Travis Fimmel). Mom is long-gone, and Charlie’s only other family is his loving aunt Margy (Alison Elliott, “20th Century Women”), who he hasn’t seen since childhood after she and Ray had a squabble about how he’s been raising Charlie. (When Charlie was 12, Ray left the boy alone for several days to spend time with a woman.)
Their new house is near a racetrack, and Charlie ingratiates himself with small-time horse owner Del (Steve Buscemi), working with him at the stable and traveling with him to seedy races on the state-fair circuit. Along the way, Charlie befriends Bonnie (Chloë Sevigny), a jockey who rides Del’s horses from time to time. Bonnie tries to tell Charlie that the horses aren’t pets, and that he shouldn’t get attached, but it’s too late — he’s already bonded with an aging Quarter Horse named Lean on Pete, even though the racer is coming to the end of his career, likely to be “sent to Mexico” (where horses can be legally slaughtered) once his use to Del has run out.
Also Read: 'Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana' Film Review: Neil Gaiman, George Romero and Others Reflect on Free Speech
When the husband of Ray’s latest conquest beats Ray bad enough to send him to the hospital, Charlie has to elude Family Services while still earning money to keep up the household. But as Ray’s condition worsens, and Lean on Pete seems destined to be destroyed, Charlie steals Del’s truck in an attempt to save the horse and to look for Margy in Wyoming.
As you might imagine, Charlie’s journey gets more and more bleak as he faces starvation, thirst and eventual homelessness. But while “Lean on Pete” certainly has its dark moments, and its 119 minutes seem like it’s never going stop throwing obstacles in Charlie’s way, there’s ultimately a sense of hope here, much of it being communicated by Plummer, in an extraordinary performance. There’s so little calculation or actorliness in his work that I thought Haigh had found a 15-year-old non-actor; I was surprised to learn after the fact that Plummer is an experienced pro with an ascendant career. (He’s about to play kidnap victim John Paul Getty III in Ridley Scott’s forthcoming “All the Money in the World.”)
Also Read: 'Tyler Perry's Acrimony' Film Review: Taraji P. Henson Is Furious, But Is She Right?
The anguish and determination that Plummer can display with just a look or subtle motion is heartbreaking; this is the kind of naturalistic acting that can just kick you in the stomach. He’s part of a strong ensemble: Buscemi’s Del makes an honest mentor, but he doesn’t sugarcoat the character’s darker side. (And it’s fun to see the easy chemistry between Buscemi and Sevigny: she starred in his feature directorial debut “Trees Lounge” two decades ago.) Steve Zahn turns up as a mercurial homeless man who offers Charlie some help along the way, and Elliott (an indie stalwart since her breakout role in “The Spitfire Grill”) radiates a warmth that makes you realize why finding Margy is worth Charlie’s Herculean effort.
Haigh adjusts to a different kind of storytelling here: “Weekend” was fairly dialogue-heavy (as was, to an extent, his little-seen debut “Greek Pete”), and unlike “45 Days,” he can’t substitute dialogue with a meaningful glance from Charlotte Rampling. Still, he manages a lot of quiet here — with the exception of some exposition dumps that Charlie gives the horse in conversation — and his storytelling is no less powerful. Danish cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Joenck (“A War”), also working in the States for the first time, collaborates with Haigh to place the characters into a very specific context, finding both beauty and horror in the American sprawl.
Your gut will be wrenched by “Lean on Pete,” but it’s also quite likely that your heart will be touched. It’s a powerful new entry for a director who is ever more deserving of attention, and it provides a spotlight for a talented young actor who would appear to be going places.
Read original story ‘Lean on Pete’ Review: Andrew Haigh’s Boy-and-His-Horse Tale Hits Hard At TheWrap...
- 4/4/2018
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
With his fourth feature, Andrew Haigh proved to audiences at the Toronto Film Festival that, after the triple whammy of Greek Pete, Weekend and 45 Years, he had more in him than just British stories. Set in America's backwater fairs and racing tracks, Lean on Pete tells the story of a young drifter named Charley (Charlie Plummer), who finds a sense of purpose when he is employed by a seasoned horse trainer (Steve Buscemi) and his jockey (Chloë Sevigny). When he came to…...
- 9/16/2017
- Deadline
If you’re a big fan of dramas like myself, then a review with the words “Andrew Haigh” plus “greatest tragedy” might well make you think that you’re onto a winner. Unfortunately, Lean on Pete isn’t the Andrew Haigh entry into the 74th Venice Biennale’s Official Competition that either you or I was expecting. It brings me great pain to admit that too, as I will happily declare that, for my money, Andrew Haigh is one of the golden boys of contemporary British cinema. What’s more, if you’re wondering whether Lean on Pete is an intriguing continuation of his first feature - the wonderfully explorative gay docu-drama Greek Pete - then I’m afraid it isn’t. Alas there is no return for that endearingly, big-eared male escort...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/3/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Charles Gant chronicles the evolution of London’s long-running Lgbt film festival.
When in 1986, film programmer Mark Finch persuaded the British Film Institute (BFI) to let him present a seven-day season of nine gay and lesbian features under the banner Gays’ Own Pictures, nobody would have envisaged the scale and popularity of the annual festival that resulted – or its status within the BFI calendar.
As the 30th edition of London’s Lgbt film festival sets to launch this week with the world premiere of the Duncan Kenworthy-produced The Pass at the 1,679-capacity Odeon Leicester Square, the BFI can be forgiven for allowing itself a celebratory mood over the event it rebranded Flare two years ago.
Programmers past and present all concur regarding the distance the festival has travelled in its 30 years. Says Briony Hanson, co-programmer from 1997 to 2000 and now director of film at the British Council: “I look at the festival now, going to the...
When in 1986, film programmer Mark Finch persuaded the British Film Institute (BFI) to let him present a seven-day season of nine gay and lesbian features under the banner Gays’ Own Pictures, nobody would have envisaged the scale and popularity of the annual festival that resulted – or its status within the BFI calendar.
As the 30th edition of London’s Lgbt film festival sets to launch this week with the world premiere of the Duncan Kenworthy-produced The Pass at the 1,679-capacity Odeon Leicester Square, the BFI can be forgiven for allowing itself a celebratory mood over the event it rebranded Flare two years ago.
Programmers past and present all concur regarding the distance the festival has travelled in its 30 years. Says Briony Hanson, co-programmer from 1997 to 2000 and now director of film at the British Council: “I look at the festival now, going to the...
- 3/15/2016
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: 45 Years director confirms he will shoot his adaptation of Lean On Pete before the biopic.
UK writer-director Andrew Haigh has spoken about his upcoming Alexander McQueen biopic for the first time, revealing it will have an “interesting take” on the life of the late fashion designer.
Interview: Andrew Haigh on the success of 45 Years, one year on
Haigh, whose 45 Years is nominated for the Outstanding British Film BAFTA, told ScreenDaily he had been in talks over the project since early 2015.
“The producer, Damian Jones, came to me a year ago with the idea of doing something based on [McQueen’s] life,” Haigh said of the project, which is backed by Pathe. “It has intrigued me from that moment.”
Jones, who recently produced feature adaptations of two beloved British comedy series - Dad’s Army and Absolutely Fabulous – previously optioned Andrew Wilson’s McQueen biography Blood Beneath The Skin.
However, writer Chris Urch, whose latest...
UK writer-director Andrew Haigh has spoken about his upcoming Alexander McQueen biopic for the first time, revealing it will have an “interesting take” on the life of the late fashion designer.
Interview: Andrew Haigh on the success of 45 Years, one year on
Haigh, whose 45 Years is nominated for the Outstanding British Film BAFTA, told ScreenDaily he had been in talks over the project since early 2015.
“The producer, Damian Jones, came to me a year ago with the idea of doing something based on [McQueen’s] life,” Haigh said of the project, which is backed by Pathe. “It has intrigued me from that moment.”
Jones, who recently produced feature adaptations of two beloved British comedy series - Dad’s Army and Absolutely Fabulous – previously optioned Andrew Wilson’s McQueen biography Blood Beneath The Skin.
However, writer Chris Urch, whose latest...
- 1/29/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
It was a triangle of past, present, and future when I interviewed director Andrew Haigh recently in Los Angeles. Down Sunset Blvd. from the offices where we meet is the La Film School — Haigh spent a year here “basically to get equipment in my hands” before tackling his first feature, “Greek Pete.” Across the street, you'll find the post-production house where he’s editing the upcoming series finale to “Looking,” his critically praised, underseen HBO series that ran for two seasons. And then there’s the film we’re here to discuss, “45 Years” — a dark relationship drama based on David Constantine’s short story "In Another Country" and starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. On top of being a gripping follow-up to Haigh’s excellent film “Weekend,” “45 Years” also carries on the director’s thematic and structural obsessions (which he readily admits). Rampling and Courtenay play Kate and Geoff, a...
- 12/23/2015
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
British cinema (and to a certain extent, British pop-culture as a whole) has always had a strange relationship with screen portrayals of sex and sexuality. In the mid-1950’s, Britain’s film censorship board the BBFC passed a documentary about a naturist camp uncut, suitable for mainstream cinema release, leading to a wave of exploitation filmmakers using naturist camp settings in order to display as much nudity as possible onscreen. During this period, the BBFC’s guidelines clearly dictated that “breasts and buttocks, but not genitalia” were allowed to be displayed, as long as the naturist camp setting was clearly clarified to the audience- a guideline that unwittingly opened the floodgates to multiple films from opportunistic producers.
Despite the plethora of films showing the human body (almost) as nature intended, elsewhere British cinema was still offering archaic views of sexuality- the Carry On franchise, that begun in 1958 and still has...
Despite the plethora of films showing the human body (almost) as nature intended, elsewhere British cinema was still offering archaic views of sexuality- the Carry On franchise, that begun in 1958 and still has...
- 9/21/2015
- by Alistair Ryder
- SoundOnSight
The British director won acclaim with his 2011 drama Weekend, about a fleeting love affair between two men. His new film, 45 Years, stars Charlotte Rampling and tells the moving story of an elderly couple facing marital crisis. Here he talks about relationships, identity, and the hard slog of making it in the movies
It could be used as a new critical yardstick: how long does a film stay with you after you leave the cinema? Can it be dismissed in the time it takes to wipe a cheek with a handkerchief? Director and writer Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, based on a story by David Constantine, is in that rare category of films that continues to move, is subtly shattering and does not loosen its hold. It is about a couple in their 70s, outstandingly played by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, who are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary when...
It could be used as a new critical yardstick: how long does a film stay with you after you leave the cinema? Can it be dismissed in the time it takes to wipe a cheek with a handkerchief? Director and writer Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, based on a story by David Constantine, is in that rare category of films that continues to move, is subtly shattering and does not loosen its hold. It is about a couple in their 70s, outstandingly played by Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, who are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary when...
- 8/9/2015
- by Kate Kellaway
- The Guardian - Film News
Rural Russian film takes top prize at Poland’s New Horizons International Film Festival.
Russian director Alexander Fedorchenko’s Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari received the Grand Prix and a €20,000 ($27,000) cash prize at the 13th New Horizons International Film Festival (July 18-28) in Wroclaw.
The decision by the International jury, headed by Hungary’s Bela Tarr and including Polish film-maker Joanna Kos-Krauze and Berlinale Forum director Christoph Terhechte, was announced ahead of the Polish premiere of Malgorzata Szumowska’s In The Name Of on Saturday evening.
Fedorchenko’s film had its world premiere at last year’s Rome Film Festival.
Review: Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari
In June, it won three awards - best script, best cinematography and the Prize of the Russian Guild of Film Scholars and Film Critics - at the Kinotavr “Open Russian” Film Festival in Sochi.
The $2m production by Fedorchenko’s 29 February Film Company explores the myths of the Russian...
Russian director Alexander Fedorchenko’s Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari received the Grand Prix and a €20,000 ($27,000) cash prize at the 13th New Horizons International Film Festival (July 18-28) in Wroclaw.
The decision by the International jury, headed by Hungary’s Bela Tarr and including Polish film-maker Joanna Kos-Krauze and Berlinale Forum director Christoph Terhechte, was announced ahead of the Polish premiere of Malgorzata Szumowska’s In The Name Of on Saturday evening.
Fedorchenko’s film had its world premiere at last year’s Rome Film Festival.
Review: Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari
In June, it won three awards - best script, best cinematography and the Prize of the Russian Guild of Film Scholars and Film Critics - at the Kinotavr “Open Russian” Film Festival in Sochi.
The $2m production by Fedorchenko’s 29 February Film Company explores the myths of the Russian...
- 7/29/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Like us, you've probably been wondering why Andrew Haigh's award-winning bittersweet gay love story "Weekend," hasn't come out for purchase on DVD/Blu-ray yet, given that it came out theatrically last September. Well we now have an answer, and we couldn't be happier for Haigh, a relative newcomer with only two features under his belt ("Weekend" and "Greek Pete"). The Criterion Collection has handpicked his sophomore film to join their roster. It will be available to buy in an extras-packed edition on August 21. The film's journey began at the SXSW Film Festival (just like Lena Dunham's second feature "Tiny Furniture," which was also coincidentally released by the label) where it won the Emerging Visions audience award and found a home at Sundance Selects. "Revolving around a brief affair between two young men with vastly different perspectives on life, the film operates on a familiar dynamic; however, it works.
- 5/16/2012
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Filmgoers may not know the name of London-based designer Sam Ashby, but they’ve probably seen his work. He created the posters for acclaimed independent releases like Archipelago, A Prophet and Weekend, British director Andrew Haigh’s microbudget gay romance. A keen cinephile, he embarked on an ambitious side project in 2010, with Little Joe (“a magazine about queers and cinema mostly”). The third issue went on sale this month, and covers a diverse range of film-makers, from underground figures like George Kuchar, to Ken Russell and Terence Davies. He spoke to me about some of his recent projects and his preference for print, in a marketplace dominated by all things digital.
Who or what gave you the impetus to become a designer?
My father is an architect, so I think I spent a long time running away from design and not wanting to follow in his footsteps. I always wanted...
Who or what gave you the impetus to become a designer?
My father is an architect, so I think I spent a long time running away from design and not wanting to follow in his footsteps. I always wanted...
- 12/24/2011
- by Susannah
- SoundOnSight
The breakout film at this year's SXSW Film Festival was Andrew Haigh's "Weekend," which screened in the out-of-competition Emerging Visions section and received the audience award. "Weekend" is Haigh's second feature, after 2009's "Greek Pete," which chronicled a year in the life of a rent boy. In "Weekend," Russell meets Glen at a gay bar after an evening spent with his straight friends. It takes a bit of work, but by the end of the night the two have found something special in each other. From Friday to Sunday, the two become entangled in a knot that promises to leave traces on both of them forever. Read Eric Kohn's review here. Honor Roll is a daily series for December that will feature new or previously published interviews, profiles and first-persons of some of the year's most notable cinematic voices. Today we're revisiting an interview we did with "Weekend" director Andrew Haigh,...
- 12/20/2011
- Indiewire
A one-night stand turns into something altogether more unexpected in Andrew Haigh's heartfelt love story.
Andrew Haigh's debut Greek Pete was a curious animal, half documentary fish, half narrative foul, an uneasy mix that despite having a ring of truth, thanks to the inclusion of real male escorts, never quite found the depth of insight he was striving for. Here, by embracing fiction and casting a couple of superb newcomers in the lead roles, he achieves a level of emotional authenticity in that it leaves the lasting impression of a first...
Andrew Haigh's debut Greek Pete was a curious animal, half documentary fish, half narrative foul, an uneasy mix that despite having a ring of truth, thanks to the inclusion of real male escorts, never quite found the depth of insight he was striving for. Here, by embracing fiction and casting a couple of superb newcomers in the lead roles, he achieves a level of emotional authenticity in that it leaves the lasting impression of a first...
- 11/19/2011
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Two years ago Haigh's debut, Greek Pete, a messy semi-documentary about a dim Anglo-Greek rent boy servicing middle-class gays in London, held out little hope for a career as a film-maker. Set on a single weekend in Nottingham, his second film is a vast improvement. It concerns the 34-year-old Russell (Tom Cullen), a lifeguard at a public swimming pool, picking up conceptual artist Glen (Chris New) in a gay bar and spending two days with him, chatting, walking around town and having drug-and-booze-fuelled sex. There's a fresh, sweaty, honest, unpretentious air to it, and when they part, with Glen on his way to spend a year working in Portland, Oregon, we genuinely believe that something like love has come into their yearning lives.
DramaPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions...
DramaPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions...
- 11/6/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer-director Andrew Haigh follows up his well-received directorial debut Greek Pete with poignant character-based drama Weekend.
Weekend tells the story of Russell (Tom Cullen) and Glenn (Chris New): two off-base gay guys who meet at a club. After a weekend of heavy drinking, drug-taking and sex, they begin to realise that they may be falling in love, despite their marked differences and opposing approaches to life.
While littered with potent questions about gay rights, politics and love, Haigh retains a light-hearted, discernible air about Weekend for its entirety, never over-explaining anything and procuring plenty of breathing space for the relationship between Russell and Glenn to untangle at its own, slow-burning pace.
It may be entirely gay in its disposition but, thanks to Haigh’s keen formulation of the narrative, it remains accessible to all, which marks something of a turning point within what’s been dubbed “queer cinema”. The...
Weekend tells the story of Russell (Tom Cullen) and Glenn (Chris New): two off-base gay guys who meet at a club. After a weekend of heavy drinking, drug-taking and sex, they begin to realise that they may be falling in love, despite their marked differences and opposing approaches to life.
While littered with potent questions about gay rights, politics and love, Haigh retains a light-hearted, discernible air about Weekend for its entirety, never over-explaining anything and procuring plenty of breathing space for the relationship between Russell and Glenn to untangle at its own, slow-burning pace.
It may be entirely gay in its disposition but, thanks to Haigh’s keen formulation of the narrative, it remains accessible to all, which marks something of a turning point within what’s been dubbed “queer cinema”. The...
- 10/28/2011
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Craig here (of Take Three fame) reporting for Nathaniel from the BFI London Film Festival which opens today. I started my festival with two gay themed dramas from a couple of emerging filmmakers from the Us (Dee Rees) and the UK (Andrew Haigh). They've both made invigatoring narrative debuts.
Dee Rees’ New York coming out drama Pariah shows its mettle from the start: we’re dropped right in the thick of it, headfirst into a lesbian strip club (we hear, “♪ Lick my neck, my back, my pussy and my crack... ♪” on the soundtrack), and introduced to feisty Brooklyn girl and poetry student Alike (Adepero Oduye) thoughtfully yet gingerly sizing up her surroundings. She’s going through identity issues and is finding it hard to open up to her warring parents about her sexuality. Solace comes through friendship with Laura (Pernell Walker) and the possibility of love with local girl Bina...
Dee Rees’ New York coming out drama Pariah shows its mettle from the start: we’re dropped right in the thick of it, headfirst into a lesbian strip club (we hear, “♪ Lick my neck, my back, my pussy and my crack... ♪” on the soundtrack), and introduced to feisty Brooklyn girl and poetry student Alike (Adepero Oduye) thoughtfully yet gingerly sizing up her surroundings. She’s going through identity issues and is finding it hard to open up to her warring parents about her sexuality. Solace comes through friendship with Laura (Pernell Walker) and the possibility of love with local girl Bina...
- 10/13/2011
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
Ever since it debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in the spring and took home the Emerging Visions Audience Award, Andrew Heigh's minutely scaled romance Weekend has been breaking audience hearts, even those who thought they'd have no interest in watching two guys have sex, talk, and slowly fall in love for 90 minutes. In the model of Before Sunrise and American indies described loosely as "mumblecore," Weekend is a poignant but hyper-real portrait of a new relationship and all its complications, from never being able to quite say what you really mean to feeling anxious when separated for even a few hours. The fact that it all takes place over a weekend, and is mostly made up of long conversations in bedrooms and on long walks, makes the emotional impact all the more immediate and specific. Haigh has one previous feature to his name, the documentary Greek Pete, and in...
- 9/23/2011
- cinemablend.com
"Most romantic movies are so determined to chart the course of a love story — how boy meets girl leads to happily or unhappily ever after — that they miss the intensity and import of beginnings," writes Dennis Lim. "But the new British film Weekend, like its closest American predecessor Before Sunrise, lingers on the initial sparks of an erotic and emotional connection. As a one-night stand turns into something more, the film explores the notion that to meet someone new, not least a potential partner, is also to rethink who you are, an invitation to shape and refine the self you wish to project. A story about falling in love that is also a tale of identity and self-definition, it is perhaps all the more resonant for taking place between two gay men."
Also in the New York Times, Ao Scott argues that in the wake of recent comedies such as...
Also in the New York Times, Ao Scott argues that in the wake of recent comedies such as...
- 9/23/2011
- MUBI
The breakout film at this year's SXSW Film Festival was Andrew Haigh's "Weekend," which screened in the out-of-competition Emerging Visions section and received the audience award. "Weekend" is Haigh's second feature, after 2009's "Greek Pete," which chronicled a year in the life of a rent boy. In "Weekend," Russell meets Glen at a gay bar after an evening spent with his straight friends. It takes a bit of work, but ...
- 3/25/2011
- Indiewire
The breakout film at this year's SXSW Film Festival was Andrew Haigh's "Weekend," which screened in the out-of-competition Emerging Visions section and received the audience award. "Weekend" is Haigh's second feature, after 2009's "Greek Pete," which chronicled a year in the life of a rent boy. In "Weekend," Russell meets Glen at a gay bar after an evening spent with his straight friends. It takes a bit of work, but ...
- 3/25/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Making light of daunting opposition, British director's low-budget romance Weekend has taken the SXSW festival by storm
In theory, Duncan Jones's Source Code opened this year's SXSW festival. But another drama by a British director screened at exactly the same time: Andrew Haigh's Weekend. The low-budget, same-sex romance tracks a one-night stand that develops into something deeper over the course of a weekend.
Going head to head with one of the festival's most anticipated films might be expected to have a director quaking in his boots. Not Haigh. "We were lucky," he says. "That spot in the schedule meant a lot of buyers saw it [Source Code had been snapped up long before]. And no one has too high expectations of gay-themed cinema. They don't think it'll resonate outside of a niche."
Weekend has defied those expectations. Last Monday it was named the festival's "buzz film", meaning it won publicity and extra screenings; later in the week,...
In theory, Duncan Jones's Source Code opened this year's SXSW festival. But another drama by a British director screened at exactly the same time: Andrew Haigh's Weekend. The low-budget, same-sex romance tracks a one-night stand that develops into something deeper over the course of a weekend.
Going head to head with one of the festival's most anticipated films might be expected to have a director quaking in his boots. Not Haigh. "We were lucky," he says. "That spot in the schedule meant a lot of buyers saw it [Source Code had been snapped up long before]. And no one has too high expectations of gay-themed cinema. They don't think it'll resonate outside of a niche."
Weekend has defied those expectations. Last Monday it was named the festival's "buzz film", meaning it won publicity and extra screenings; later in the week,...
- 3/23/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Here’s the complete news release giving you all you need to know about the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival kicking off in October…
The 13th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Plgff) takes place October 2 – 8, 2009 at Cinema 21, 616 Nw 21st Ave. Plgff is a non-profit arts groups that annually showcases queer feature, documentary and short films from all over the world.
This year’s festival begins with a special screening of the Swedish drama Patrik, Age 1.5 on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm at Cinema 21. Goran and Sven are the perfect gay couple; they have a beautiful house in the suburbs, a solid relationship, a home full of love and warmth. Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby “Patrik, age 1.5,” is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves saddled with a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent! Directed by Ella Lemhagen, Patrik has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 13th Annual Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Plgff) takes place October 2 – 8, 2009 at Cinema 21, 616 Nw 21st Ave. Plgff is a non-profit arts groups that annually showcases queer feature, documentary and short films from all over the world.
This year’s festival begins with a special screening of the Swedish drama Patrik, Age 1.5 on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm at Cinema 21. Goran and Sven are the perfect gay couple; they have a beautiful house in the suburbs, a solid relationship, a home full of love and warmth. Newly approved for adoption, they believe that baby “Patrik, age 1.5,” is on his way. One tiny decimal mistake later, they find themselves saddled with a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent! Directed by Ella Lemhagen, Patrik has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- 9/2/2009
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
"Mississippi Damned," Tina Mabry's portrait of a poor Mississippi family, won the grand jury award for outstanding dramatic feature at Outfest, the 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Nacho G. Velilla's "Chef's Special" won the audience award for dramatic feature.
Laura Harring in "Drool" and Derrick L. Middleton in "Rivers Wash Over Me" won grand jury acting awards.
The screenwriting trophy was given to E.E. Cassidy for "We Are the Mods" which was also the audience award winner for first U.S. dramatic feature.
Here are more award winners:
"On These Shoulders We Stand" directed by Glenne McElhinney -- The Special Programming Award for Freedom
"Greek Pete" by writer-director Andrew Haigh -- The Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement
"College Boys Live" a documentary by George O'Donnell -- The Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent
"Get Happy" by Mark Payne -- Audience Award for Documentary Short...
Laura Harring in "Drool" and Derrick L. Middleton in "Rivers Wash Over Me" won grand jury acting awards.
The screenwriting trophy was given to E.E. Cassidy for "We Are the Mods" which was also the audience award winner for first U.S. dramatic feature.
Here are more award winners:
"On These Shoulders We Stand" directed by Glenne McElhinney -- The Special Programming Award for Freedom
"Greek Pete" by writer-director Andrew Haigh -- The Special Programming Award for Artistic Achievement
"College Boys Live" a documentary by George O'Donnell -- The Special Programming Award for Emerging Talent
"Get Happy" by Mark Payne -- Audience Award for Documentary Short...
- 7/20/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned," a portrait of a poor Mississippi family, won the grand jury award for outstanding dramatic feature at Outfest, the 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which concluded Sunday.
Nicole Opper's "Off and Running" was named outstanding documentary feature, and Stian Kristiansen's "The Man Who Loved Yngve" earned the jury prize for international dramatic feature.
Jury awards also were presented to Laura Herring, actress in a feature, for "Drool"; Derrick L. Middleton, actor in a feature, for "Rivers Wash Over Me"; screenwriter E.E. Cassidy, "We Are the Mods"; "First and Loveliss," directed by Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman, documentary short; and "The Bath," directed by Lee Mi-rang, dramatic short.
Cassidy's "Mods," about a high school girl infatuated with mod culture, also earned two audience awards: for first U.S. dramatic feature film and soundtrack.
Other audience award winners were "Chef's Special," directed by Nacho G. Velilla,...
Nicole Opper's "Off and Running" was named outstanding documentary feature, and Stian Kristiansen's "The Man Who Loved Yngve" earned the jury prize for international dramatic feature.
Jury awards also were presented to Laura Herring, actress in a feature, for "Drool"; Derrick L. Middleton, actor in a feature, for "Rivers Wash Over Me"; screenwriter E.E. Cassidy, "We Are the Mods"; "First and Loveliss," directed by Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman, documentary short; and "The Bath," directed by Lee Mi-rang, dramatic short.
Cassidy's "Mods," about a high school girl infatuated with mod culture, also earned two audience awards: for first U.S. dramatic feature film and soundtrack.
Other audience award winners were "Chef's Special," directed by Nacho G. Velilla,...
- 7/19/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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