Boyfriends

This low-budget first feature takes a wry look at the ideals, desires and neuroses of a bunch of mostly middle-class gay men who come together for a country weekend. Tetchy video documentarist Paul (Dreyfus) and passive Ben (Sands) have decided to end their five-year relationship; after just three months, romantic Matt (Urwin) reckons he's met Mr Right in Owen (Ableson), who's wary of the suggestion that they move in together; meanwhile, social-worker Will (Coffey) brings along young, working-class Adam (Petrucci), yet to succumb to emotional or sexual commitment. Attraction, betrayal, jealousy and misunderstanding run their course. The performances are on the whole convincing, while every so often the petty, ratty tensions, coupled with lines of acerbic wit, hint at a more complex scenario of genuine pain and confusion.