Stockholm

A young gay man embarks on an unusual first date in a conquest to take control of his past.

"Alex" (Alex Britt) meets "Ed" (Max Percy) in a London bar where, after a few seconds of flashback, it becomes clear that the former has had a fairly recent traumatic experience that he is determined to recover and progress from. What that was, and with whom is all part of the ambiguity presented to us here from Tom Wright. There are some clues in the rather sparing dialogue but nothing concrete, indeed - it seems that in just ten minutes we are merely being given a rather rudimentary introduction to these two young men and left to fill in - just one too many - blanks ourselves. The production, set in a pub, helps set the scenario of intimacy in a public space quite well, but I found the lack of definitive context in the flashbacks just a little disconcerting and confusing to be effective. Perhaps that was the plan - but it didn't quite deliver for me. It's a curious film to watch, I suspect many of us will get different things from it, but I'd give it a watch - Britt's character has something elusive yet strong about him.