God's Own Country DVD Review

08:30:00



Good Morning Lovelies, 

If you have even been to Yorkshire, you will know that there is this feeling about it that reminds you of forbidden and brutal classical love stories that live on for years to come. In God’s Own Country, this feeling remains but in a new wave effect.

Directed by Francis Lee, the focuses on the romance between a young man called Johnny (Josh O’Connor) and Romanian Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu). Opening like a classic novel with the scene being set, the film quickly spins to show that this is very much a modern story – It features Johnny throwing up everywhere next to it.

Quickly developing into scenes of how boring Johnny’s life has become, with close-ups looking into his life on his family’s farm after his father suffers a stroke to his nights out, which end in unhappy sex and very little further interaction with the people he meets apart from the arguments he faces his father and grandmother. Johnny’s story continues like this on a cycle for much of the first act of the film.

However, upon meeting Romanian Gheorghe, who comes to work on the farm for a week, his outlook on life and the world changes. The scenery and the nature surrounding him not only become a place to learn more about himself, but also a place of revelation. All of which, Gheorghe brings out of him.  He brings a sense of love and a caring nature. One that Johnny only ever experienced when he was with the animals on the farm.

Together they form a relationship that compares to no other cinematic feature. Whilst many will classify this as a British copy or version of Brokeback Mountain, they should honestly be stopped. The film is so much more than that as Lee shows how different people and different worlds need each other to bring humanity onto the land. When an animal is born in the film, it is the way in which both characters react that highlights this. The clash between Johnny’s world with Gheorghe and his family are also another key example.

Lee has captured this with beautiful close-up shots of the characters and the scenery. In fact, the world within the film has been cleverly adapted to show the pair’s emotions throughout. Windows with only one light shining through highlight their loneliness, yet when brought together, the light floods the camera and brings a sense of brightness to the audience.

Gay love stories are dominating cinema screens right now and rightfully so. There is no rehashing of what we have already seen in other features, but new fresh tales that should be celebrated and watched repeatedly. Lee knew what to do and how to make his characters rememberable and now he has made a film that audiences will never forget.

There so, I am giving the film…

4 ½ Stars

Blog Soon, 
Joey X 

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