Soft Lad - Liebe auf Umwegen

In theory this could have made for quite an intriguing story of cheating and naughtiness. Instead, it turned out to be a really disappointing melodrama showcasing the mediocre acting talents of a few handsome men and the writing of someone who had the vision for the story, but no real idea how to turn it into anything particularly compelling. It's all about the young and attractive dancer "David" (Jonny Labey) who is secretly having an affair with his brother-in-law "Jules" (Daniel Brocklebank). It's a bit tempestuous and after a row, the younger man seeks comfort in the arms of "Sam" (Craig Stein) but that just causes even more ructions and you can now see just what's going to happen, and anticipate the fall out that is looming large for all concerned. So much more could have been done to develop the characters; the sex scenes are ridiculously sterile and there is just way too much petulant dialogue making the whole thing feel much longer than just ninety minutes. It's gay theme gives it a slightly distinctive edge, but otherwise this is forgettable stuff, sorry.

Directing style made it feel like a soap. Also the sound engineer got the music levels very off, sometimes annoyingly dominating dialogue. Technical aside, it's a passable storyline, the acting is ok if a little melodramatic.

At one point in this film, a character says "If I never see you again it will be too soon!". The sentiment also applies to this film.

The film follows an aspiring dancer and his complicated family relationship, but somehow manages to include every stereotype of gay cinema, from the best-friend-he-would-love-if-only-he-were-straight ("I'm gay, remember?" he says at one point, because that's just the kind of thing best friends forget about each other) to the closeted family man having it off on the side. There isn't even any suspense to this - most of the main characters are so bluntly drawn in the first 5 minutes that you could fall asleep until the climax, and if you do I envy you. Of course there is a 'twist' - inverted commas because it's so clearly signposted it might as well be London - but by then the oddly distant directing style had drained all engagement from me.

I know that as a genre, LGBT cinema suffers by not having the history and money behind it available to other films, but even compared to some of the ropier stuff out there this is lacking.

The word that best sums up the plot, the directing, the cinematography, is: dull.

Came across this film through social media and was interested to see soap actors in a feature film. To be honest I didn't have much expectation as a lot of the reviews had said this was typical soap plot lines but in my opinion the film tackles real issues and the cast delivered the story exceptionally well. Laura Ainsworth who plays Stacey was hilarious, she played the character so well. Suzanne Collins who I loved in Brookside was also brilliant.

This film is set in Liverpool and was good to see a non London setting. Would Defo recommend this for soap fans! Incredible to think that this was made for less than £20k. Will be hoping to see more from the director!

As a story it somehow it could have been considered a little dated, like it could have been made in the Eighties, closeted husband sleeps with wive's younger brother yada yada. In truth though it's actually a decent film, the story does grab you, it unfolds well, and the acting is excellent. I thought Suzanne Collins was excellent as wronged wife Jane. Daniel Brocklebank, Jonny Labey etc all very good. It's depressing in tone, but in fairness contains some positive messages. Watchable, 8/10