God's Own Country *** ½ / *****
Directed by: Francis Lee.
Written by: Francis Lee.
Starring: Josh O'Connor (Johnny Saxby), Alec Secareanu (Gheorghe Ionescu), Ian Hart (Martin Saxby), Gemma Jones (Deidre Saxby).
I am sure that Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country will be compared a lot to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain – that 2005 masterwork, about two cowboys who fall in love, but can never admit it when they are not alone, on that mountain together, tending to the cows. The comparison is earned – both because this is another love story between men in a similar profession, and because Lee’ direction is remarkably assured for a first time director. He isn’t afraid of silences (there is very little music in the film – so when it is used, it works even better), and the cinematography, capturing a remote, farming region of Northern England is stunning and beautiful. But God’s Own Country is its own story – with its own characters, and it doesn’t follow the path that Brokeback Mountain did –for better or for worse.
The lead character is Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) – a young man, just out of high school, who has watched his friends and schoolmates move away to college, while he toils at the family farm. He doesn’t have much choice – he’s an only child, his mom ran off years before and so he lives with his father, Martin (Ian Hart), who has had a stroke, and can only get around – slowly – using two canes, and his grandmother Deidre (Gemma Jones) – who makes it clear, without saying much, that Johnny will carry on his family’s legacy – whether he likes it or not. He doesn’t – and he isn’t very good at it either. Perhaps he could be if he cares – but he doesn’t. He half-heartedly works the farm, and then heads to “town” for a drink every night – and ends up back at home puking his guts out. When he heads to a livestock auction, we see him exchange meaningful glances with another young man – before they head to his trailer for rough, wordless sex. Outside of the trailer, Johnny barely acknowledges to the other man.
Things change with the arrival of a temporary worker from Romania – Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu). He’s going to be there for a week – just to help out – and he’s so good with the animals that Johnny immediately hates him. When the pair have to go spend a few days in a remote part of their land – to fix a fence, and mind some sheep – things change. Glances are exchanged, and soon the pair is rolling around in the mud. Like the mountain in Brokeback, this section of the farm is theirs entirely – no one else is around, they can be who they are, and be happy. It cannot last however – sooner or later, they have to return to the big house. While homosexuality is more broadly accepted now than ever before, it appears that the memo may not have reached this area of Northern England yet. And Gheorghe’s skin color – and status as a foreign worker – doesn’t exactly sit well with the locals either.
God’s Own Country is a difficult film to pull off. Johnny is not exactly a lovable character when we first meet him – he’s either drunk, throwing up, or half assing it at the farm – and when Gheorghe arrives, he even throws some of his own racial slurs at him (he does, as he does everything else – half-heartedly). He’s a very quiet character, and difficult to get a read on. This story is his however – and in the long tradition of British kitchen sink dramas, it isn’t a happy one at first. O’Connor does a lot with body language throughout the film – as his relationship with Gheorghe develops, he seems to move with more ease, more grace – as if he’s lighter – and it shows in his face. The other four major performances are all quite good as well – although none of them are as fully developed as Johnny. Gheorghe in particular is kind of a handsome, blank slate – he has good looks and charm, and seemingly endless patience. This is a story about Johnny coming to accept who he is – and going after what he wants – but while it’s easy to understand why Johnny wants Gheorghe, the reverse isn’t as clear. I did quite like the scenes late in the film with Ian Hart and Gemma Jones – two old pros if ever there were – who quietly, and quite movingly, let Johnny know that they support him – even if they don’t have the words to say it.
The ending of the film is too sentimental and happy for me – especially given what has come before it, and yet, I understand why Lee ends it this way. For years and years, when homosexual love stories were told at all (and they usually weren’t) they focused on tragedy and misery – and so the recent push back to that has been most welcome. And yet, I’m not quite sure this beautiful, assured film deserves the ending that it gets. It’s a small complaint, about a mostly excellent movie, but it’s a real one.
