Memorable performances by Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day Lewis shine in a romantic drama with political and racial overtones as violence during the Thatcher era affects a gay couple where the Pakistani Warnecke and Caucasian Lewis deal with family obstacles. Street tough Lewis finds himself as both the life partner and business partner of Warnecke, and that's not good enough for Warnecke's powerful uncle, Saeed Jaffrey, who wants to set his nephew up in business and find him a good wife. Other family members also interfere, with prejudices in abundance and the ugliness of racism rearing its head. Jeffrey is separated from his wife and involved with the white Shirley Anne Field, and interestingly enough, he never shows the slightest bit of homophobia outside of wanting to stick with tradition. These hypocricies make for interesting character development, with Warnecke's ailing father Roshan Seth definitely under his brother's thumb.
Then there's Rita Wolf as Jaffrey's daughter, cousin to Warnecke whom Jaffrey wants him to marry, in an interesting twist of incest. Wolf discovers the truth about her cousin and Lewis and makes her own threats, but how can she stand between true love?. This reminded me of British films of the late 1950's and early 60's in is realism and grittiness, often disturbing yet very well written with great performances. This certainly is quite different than the other two British gay seems films of the 1980s that got a lot of attention, the period pieces "Another Country" and "Maurice". The two actors do not fake it in their love scenes. Lewis as usual plays a character you won't recognize in any of his other roles. It certainly was a daring challenge, perhaps not perfect and missing some political detail that would have explained the problems in British society a bit more. Field, a veteran British actress who starred in several of those 60's realistic dramas, is absolutely lovely.
Then there's Rita Wolf as Jaffrey's daughter, cousin to Warnecke whom Jaffrey wants him to marry, in an interesting twist of incest. Wolf discovers the truth about her cousin and Lewis and makes her own threats, but how can she stand between true love?. This reminded me of British films of the late 1950's and early 60's in is realism and grittiness, often disturbing yet very well written with great performances. This certainly is quite different than the other two British gay seems films of the 1980s that got a lot of attention, the period pieces "Another Country" and "Maurice". The two actors do not fake it in their love scenes. Lewis as usual plays a character you won't recognize in any of his other roles. It certainly was a daring challenge, perhaps not perfect and missing some political detail that would have explained the problems in British society a bit more. Field, a veteran British actress who starred in several of those 60's realistic dramas, is absolutely lovely.