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Holding the Man (2015)

Holding the Man (2015)

7.4

Two boys fall in love in this poignant coming-of-age memoir of 1970s Australia

Movie

Australia
English
Drama
2015

TLDR

If you can and if you have one, please hold your partner tightly today.

What it's about

Melbourne, 1970s. After meeting in Xavier College, aspiring actor Tim Conigrave falls in love with football team captain John Caleo, leading to a lifelong love affair that has lasted despite various obstacles.

The take

Relationships mostly come and go, but to some lucky people, they find love early, hold onto it, and never let it go. Holding the Man is a drama based on a memoir on a fifteen year love affair between John Caleo and writer Tim Conigrave, who first met in high school, and chose to stay with each other despite parental disapproval, diagnoses, and same-sex activity being illegal. While Ryan Corr and Craig Stott do seem unconvincing as high school students, they share a realistic, endearing chemistry that makes you hope for a happy ending for the two, despite the knowledge of what they would have to face that decade. The film captures the nostalgia of the times in such a relaxed way, while also sticking to the frank tone of the book. Holding the Man reminds us to cling to the people we love, because there might be a time where we cannot.

What stands out

The post-credits scene. It’s a small fragment of an interview Tim had, but it drives home that the tragedy on-screen happened in real life.

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