Director: Harry Lighton

Stars: Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgård, Lesley Sharp, Douglas Hodge

Adapted from Adam Mars-Jones’ novel this romantic comedy casts a sympathetic eye on an unorthodox relationship. Harry Melling is Colin, a shy single gay traffic warden who lives at home with his parents Peggy (Sharp) and Pete (Hodge) who he sings with in a barbershop choir. While on an underwhelming blind date, Colin spots good-looking leather boy Ray (Skarsgård). Ray slips Colin a note with a time and a location to meet. A sub-dom relationship follows where Colin is entirely at Ray’s bidding. Shaving his curly locks off and wearing a dog chain, Colin joins Ray and his leather fetishist gang on outings, while gradually beginning to assert his own needs. The performances are everything here: Melling is skilled enough that we can guess what is going on beneath Coin’s meek and seemingly happily submissive façade, while Skarsgård’s initially sphinx-like Ray is clearly charmed by his new partner. Director Lighton has fun playing the contrast between the parochial setting and the frank sexuality on display here, cock rings and all, and the script’s whatever works approach to relationships is refreshing.

David Willoughby

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