The underlying premise is unique, a 22 year old is having a love affair with his sister's husband, but throughout the film their is confusion in the message, unnecessary clichés, and bad acting from all but Suzanne Collins (Jane, the wife).
The dynamic between Jules and David is the first thing the audience is introduced to, the film starts two years into their affair but doesn't offer an interesting backstory or any real explanation about why they are in love.
Then it cuts to the least fun looking gay bar, where David meets a new guy and they take drugs, have sex then (after a strange 5 minute montage) are in love. Then the film drags on until the predictable dramatic ending, which could have been made a lot more dramatic. I was hoping for a 'Dr.Foster' type event but the payoff just wasn't there.
Also, suddenly the husband goes from thinking he is straight to being gay. There was no aspect of the husbands struggle with his sexuality, or any mention of bisexuality. It would have been a great opportunity to mention that, it is something that is frequently ignored in LGBT+ cinema.
I did think that the way the truth was forced out was new, with David finding out that the affair has caused him to get HIV.
Personally, it felt way too much like a feature length soap opera and had no real character development. I found myself occasionally skipping forward 2 or 3 minutes just to get to the end of it. A very dramatic story, but the script was written in the least dramatic way possible.
The dynamic between Jules and David is the first thing the audience is introduced to, the film starts two years into their affair but doesn't offer an interesting backstory or any real explanation about why they are in love.
Then it cuts to the least fun looking gay bar, where David meets a new guy and they take drugs, have sex then (after a strange 5 minute montage) are in love. Then the film drags on until the predictable dramatic ending, which could have been made a lot more dramatic. I was hoping for a 'Dr.Foster' type event but the payoff just wasn't there.
Also, suddenly the husband goes from thinking he is straight to being gay. There was no aspect of the husbands struggle with his sexuality, or any mention of bisexuality. It would have been a great opportunity to mention that, it is something that is frequently ignored in LGBT+ cinema.
I did think that the way the truth was forced out was new, with David finding out that the affair has caused him to get HIV.
Personally, it felt way too much like a feature length soap opera and had no real character development. I found myself occasionally skipping forward 2 or 3 minutes just to get to the end of it. A very dramatic story, but the script was written in the least dramatic way possible.