Written by Matt Carter And Alan Silver
Directed by Matt Carter
Mark: "You think I like having to hide this from everyone we know while you parade around with him?"
Warren: "It's not the same."
Mark: "Like what is it you want from me?"
Touted as the a first gay rugby movie, this certainly had something to live up to as a film and fortunately I can say, it definitely did that and then some. Premise would seem simple - one rugby lad, in the case Mark (Alexander Lincoln) found himself getting involved with rival team member, Warren (Alexander King). Not too complex, except for the fact that not only are the pair on rival teams so to speak, but both of them have their own partners.
For Mark that seems to be a rather distant relationship with his more affluent partner, Richard (Alex Hammond) with the latter being openly dismissive of Mark's rugby life while Warren's relationship with fellow team member John (Peter McPherson) seems to be one of obligation than any real love attached to it. Both of these are hard to root for, which somewhat makes the connection that Mark and Warren seem believable enough.
However their relationship itself while genuinely gripping with to watch with some strong chemistry between Alexander Lincoln and Alexander King does have it's own problems. One being that it's a relationship born out of deceit that even Mark's own mother, Alice (Mary Lincoln) while lamenting about her own union with Mark's father, Leonard (Nigel Fairs). It's something that clearly stuck with Mark as the consequences of his affair with Warren come out during a New Year's Eve party.
Those consequences being the breakdown of his own relationship with Richard, which I didn't really are as a bad thing in itself as his teammates initially being somewhat disappointed in him but there was his relationship with Warren too. Ultimately, while an interesting relationship between the pair, it became something of a doomed love affair nonetheless.
With our lead male not ending up with either Richard or Warren, you could think this was a film with a bleak ending but in reality, it was one with a surprisingly mature one. Mark made a reckless choice to have affair, it had consequences but there was a sense of him learning from his mistakes and maybe not repeating his own parents pattern. That in itself could be seen as a good thing.
Then there's the actual rugby itself. We saw both the Stags and A Team play off each other and then former against another major team in which they emerged as the victors. We got plenty of training sequences, lads nights out after the match, talks about the need for more inclusiveness in sports and some focus on some of Mark's fellow team mates.
The team mates in question being the likes of Pinky (Pearse Egan), Henry (Will Hearle), Gareth (Carl Loughlin), Jimmy (Christopher Sherwood) and coach Stuart (Chris Garner). All of them were written well as supporting characters with both Pinky and Henry standing out the most out of all of them. As someone who doesn't have the biggest interest in rugby, this movie did a great job fleshing out the game along with the characters and central romance.
- As well as co-writing, directing and providing music for the soundtrack, Matt Carter also is a rugby coach himself and had played the sport foe years.
- We got some nice Christmas scenes away from London with Mark and Warren in which the latter proved not be great at skiing.
- Standout music: Matt Carter's By Your Side and Christmas Time With You with Tashara.
- Chronology: Despite this film being released in 2022, it was actually filmed in early 2019, prior to lead actor Alexander Lincoln joining ITV soap, Emmerdale.
In From The Side is a triumph of a movie, telling a very compelling if doomed love story with the two leads. Both Alexander Lincoln and Alexander King are excellent to watch as Mark and Warren. There's plenty of drama, male nudity/sex scenes, general camaraderie and team spirit, humour and so much more. One of the best movies I've seen this year.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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