Southwest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009

Class struggle, gay romance and hot action collide in this amazing British film as the lives of Cal and Olivier intersect in an explosive, urban street drama. The sex is explicit, the violence is shocking and the young cast is utterly impressive. Cal is an 18-year-old gang member who has nothing in his life except drugs, online hook-ups, and random acts of unmotivated violence. A brutal hookup with an anonymous stranger temporarily satisfies Cal’s secret gay cravings, but fails to quell his secret lust for his best friend, the hunky Jonno. Nessa, their psychotic, all-controlling gang leader, suspects something more than friendship between them but can’t put her finger on it. When the gang mugs young cutie Olivier with violent force, Cal spontaneously decides to make a break by helping Olivier escape. The violence escalates as Nessa and the rest of the gang stalk Cal and Olivier for revenge. First-time director Simon Pearce (who is only twenty-one) makes a thrilling and explosive debut, embracing street culture and darker queer themes. —Jason Wilby