Rent God's Own Country (2017)

Brokeback Mountain in Yorkshire - God's Own Country review by JR

This is basically a Brokeback Mountain set in Yorkshire. But unlike Brokeback, which looked like and advertisement for Ralph Lauren clothes, this film shows the hardship and isolation of fell farmers. But it's preoccupation with mud, muck and all types of human body fluids was hard to stomach.

Loved it! - God's Own Country review by JM

Absolutely loved this film- thought it dealt with the subject matter with sensitivity and although gritty at times was brilliant on a number of levels.

An insult to Yorkshire - God's Own Country review by SKC

A film so shite it couldn't throw up one Yorkshire actor. Meaning, not a single Yorkshire man has to own up to this drivel.

An utter abortion and should deleted from all sources. A wanton yet failed attempt at Yorkshires's version of Wuthering mountain.

Exceptional.. - God's Own Country review by CB

This film is not ‘shite’. In any way.

A story of a tough rural upbringing and the strains of relationships therein.

The way the director develops the relationship between Johnny and his love, and his dad, is masterful.

And...there is the ending, which to avoid spoilers, is untypical of gay themed movies.

Terrific film.

Off to a Bad start - God's Own Country review by CH

Not prepared (my fault) for the opening of this story, which I put on in my living room to entertain visiting relatives. Taken aback by the graphic scene of seduction (?) or rape(?), due to the howls of disgust/dismay during the first few seconds, I pulled the plug and suggested Scrabble instead. Posted it back in the hope of getting Christopher Robin next time!

Now have read the reviews, so shall re-order when I know I'll be the sole viewer!

A stunningly shot, beautifully acted & delicately realised look at love & family - God's Own Country review by TB

This was one of those films which I first heard about through reading film magazines such as Empire. It was a small British film (which I love & are often better than anything Hollywood can produce,) which had played multiple festivals & received rave reviews from everyone who saw it. It then managed to be highly successful (given its budget,) at the box office, as well as winning multiple awards. When I finally saw it, I understood why, as it absolutely blew me away.

Johnny Saxby lives & works on a Yorkshire farm, owned by his parents. The hours are long & gruelling, with even more pressure put on him due to the fact that his father has suffered several strokes. Johnny is a wild & free spirit, who frequently drinks to excess, can be unreliable & difficult to be around. He is also gay & has many fleeting dalliances, but never anything more. Due to the level of work the farm needs, alongside his father's failing health, a Romanian man called Gheorghe is hired to help. As they start to work together, Johnny begins to fall in love with Gheorghe, although he will have to completely change his ways in order to keep them together.

Everything about this film is perfect, starting with the look of it. Shot on location on a real farm in Yorkshire (the 2 actors, once they signed on to the roles, had a 2 week bootcamp working on farms to gain a view into this unforgiving life,) everything about the film feels authentic, as well as beautifully shot. As a regular visitor to the North, I cannot think of another film which so beautifully captures the nature & weather of this magnificent part of the UK. You can almost feel the atmosphere of the farm, such as the warmth from the animals or the various smells.

The other element to the film which I really liked was the pointed refusal to make Johnny a simple character, in terms of showing his traits. Johnny is at times genuinely unlikable, difficult, abrasive & cold. But he is also someone who works incredibly hard & is also loyal to his family. One of the most devastating & powerful moments in this film comes during a scene helping his father, turning two simple words of gratitude into an emotional hammerblow.

Performance wise, every cast member is flawless. O'Connor, Secareanu, Hart & Jones literally are their characters, the actions they do & the lines on their faces telling a million stories without saying a single word. I also liked the fact that this was a very raw love story in terms of how it shows the love between the 2 men. This is a film full of honesty, whether in the representations of sex or the exhaustion of hard manual labour on a farm.

This film is beautiful, poetic & emotionally devastating. It stays with you long after the credits roll, as any incredible film does. Stunning work from all involved

Lottery-funded Ee by Gum it's Brokeback Mountain in Yorkshire Dales wiv Sheep on't Farm an all, like - God's Own Country review by PV

Well this is certainly an interesting film - the sort of slow state-funded lottery-funded sort of thing we have come to expect - and it ticks the pc diversity boxes re the gay storyline and also the Romanian immigrant who is also a gypsy thereby ticking those important ethnic boxes which state/lottery funding demands...

But is it any good?

Well, that depends what sort of film you're into. There have been loads of gay films now so this stuff is not shocking or even unusual - and the scenes are less explicit than in other movies. Brokeback Mountain is the immediate reference, of course, whether the writer/director of this likes it or not.

One criticism would be the lazy stereotype of all white Brits being racist.

And that Romanian farm gypsy speaks better English than English university professors too which is all somewhat unrealistic as he'd be doing a better job with that idiomatic and proficient English!

But it's certainly an unusual film and worth a watch.