'Finally Finding a Mate,
in Working-Class London' . .
. . An Urban Fairytale
Don't be alarmed if during the opening moments of ''Beautiful Thing,'' you have the dislocating sense of being catapulted back three decades to the mad, mod world of ''Georgy Girl.''
That's because the cheery voice on the soundtrack belongs to none other than Mama Cass Elliot belting ''It's Getting Better,'' a late-60's hit whose jangly folk-pop sound echoes the theme song from the movie that made Lynn Redgrave a star. So what in heaven's name is Mama Cass's music doing in a 90's drama about two gay teen-age boys in southeast London who fall in love and come out together? We shall soon see.
'Beautiful Thing' is a heartwarming story of two young men coming to grips with their sexuality and the effect it has on the people in their lives.''Beautiful Thing' focuses on three neighbors, Jamie (Glen Berry), Ste (Scott Neal) and Leah (Tameka Empson) on Thamesmead Estate in south-east London.
In the middle flat, Jamie lives with his pub manager mom, Sandra (Linda Henry). Jamie is going through 
a few problems at school, much to the chagrin of his gutsy mother who is too busy trying to hold down a relationship with a dippy younger man, Tony (Ben Daniels). Next door lives Ste, sporty and good looking, a quiet boy who stoically endures regular beatings by his father, a drunken former boxer with a chip on his shoulder and his brother who also beats on him. The atmosphere is tense at the best of times. On the other side live Leah and her mom. Leah has been kicked out of school and passes her time listening to old records. Kooky Leah has an unaccountable obsession with the singer Mama Cass Elliott, who died in 1974 and whose records she enjoys playing full blast at 2 in the morning, to the fury of neighbors.
This doggedly uplifting music plays a crucial role in setting the tone of the film whose mixture of working-class realism and feel-good fantasy resurrects the spirit of 1960's movies set in swinging England. ''Georgy Girl,'' you may recall, was a Cinderella story about a gawky Plain Jane who wins Prince Charming. ''Beautiful Thing'' is a Cinderella story about two gawky Plain Joes who win each other.
Life drifts along until one night Ste is beaten up by his brother and is taken into the safety of Sandra's flat. Sleeping embarrassed head-to-toe, Jamie realizes that he is in love with Ste. As the bullying continues, Ste spends more and more time with Jamie. With Jamie, Ste finds a tenderness he has so far missed out on in life. He finds himself drawn more and more to Jamie.
But it is not as straightforward as that. How can you be gay on this tough estate? As Ste and Jamie are sorting things out in their heads, Sandra discovers the truth. She knows she cannot kick Jamie out. Her love for him is too strong, and she decides to try and understand. Sandra, who is poorly educated and thinks she knows more than she does, solemnly tries to reassure her son, there is a place where gay people can go and live without fear of harassment: ''It's an island in the Mediterranean called Lesbian.''It is clear now that things will forever be different for Jamie and his mother, but Ste can never tell his family the truth.
The film ends on an optimistic note with Jamie and Ste unashamedly slow dancing in the sunshine in the courtyard of their apartment complex with the 'world' watching. Sandra may be a feisty and meddlesome mom (she spies on her son and follows the lovers to a gay bar), but when everyone's cards are finally out on the table, she proves militantly supportive and she and Leah usually at each others throats, reconcile their differences and she takes Leah's hand and they join Jamie and Ste and slow dance along side of them.
They are dancing to Mama Cass Elliot singing "Dream A Little Dream of Me''
'Beautiful Thing,'' directed by Hettie Macdonald from a screenplay by Jonathan Harvey, is very well acted. Mr. Berry and Mr. Neal capture every blush and awkward gesture of two shy adolescents stumbling together in terror out onto some very thin ice. Ms. Henry is wonderful as a woman whose fighting spirit masks a streak of hard-bitten tenderness.Information: 'Beautiful Thing'
Web:Cast, Bios and Additional Details at IMDb
Director: Hettie Macdonald
Writer: Jonathan Harvey (writer) Jonathan Harvey (play)
Cast, Crew & Credits: Full Cast, Crew & Credits
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance
Awards: 4 wins and 3 nominations
Runtime: 90 min
Spoken Language: English
Preview Clip: Created by the talented Meerkat86
Film File Download: 'Beautiful Thing'
| Method 1.) File Self Extraction. (For PC) Download files into the same folder. then click on the 'xxxx.part01.exe' file and the film will self extract. (For Mac) You will need a Command Line Archiver like Rar for Mac OS X' |
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