God's Own Country (2017)

Director: Francis Lee

Stars: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones
Runtime: 104 minutes

Synopsis: Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path.

Performances: 9/10
Screenplay: 8/10
Editing: 8/10
Cinematography: 7/10

Verdict: I have heard nothing but praise for Francis Lee's roughly autobiographical directorial debut. And it was while browsing Netflix for something to watch that I surprisingly stumbled on it and convinced myself to finally give it a shot. I had no idea why I never did beforehand, but boy am I glad to have crossed it off my watchlist.

The narrative is pretty straightforward as we follow Johnny, a young farmer who, instead of facing his repressed sentiments, drowns them in alcohol and casual sex with random men that never lead anywhere. That is until his family hires a Romanian help with who he develops a very special bond that reminded me on more than one occasion of the relationship Ennis and Jack shared in "Brokeback Mountain". While the story itself is simple, the complexity of the film comes from its characters, brilliantly portrayed by Alec Secareanu and especially Josh O'Connor who gave one of the best performances of 2017. His nuanced acting brought struggle, pain, and relief to a character whose emotional journey is one that will touch more than one. The movie serves as a raw, unfiltered, and rough look at sexuality and how it can be either enslaving or liberating depending on how a person deals with it.

"God's Own Country" is destined to become a pillar in LGBT Cinema, and rightfully so. It's such a sincere film that focuses on telling a very personal story, and that's what makes it stand out from other romances in general. Don't expect a lot of style from it, but definitely a lot of repressed emotions.  

FINAL GRADE: 8/10