Like It Is

Somewhat disjointed in continuity, Like It Is nevertheless did hold my interest. Steve Bell, who plays the young boxer Craig, is effective as the bare-knuckle fighter trying to make his way in the world with his bare fists. At the same time he is troubled by the nature of his sexuality as gay impulses begin stirring when he meets Matt, played by Ian Rose. Their first attempt at a physical relationship is a disaster, but later on they consummate their love in a scene that must have been challenging for the two young actors. The film was obviously shot on low budget but the DVD has a couple of "extras," a sign for me that the producers are aiming to capture a larger audience. Unfortunately a big obstacle is the lack of captions. Much of the film was shot in Blackpool in northern England where the regional dialect is difficult for Americans to understand. It is a "foreign language," and the viewers need a break with some interpretation.

I did like this movie. Directed by Paul Oremland, hopefully not his last, he brought truth and fine acting by a not so famous cast, to the fold. It was a low budget made film, but the writing, by Robert Gray, was top notch. It proves you can tell a beautiful love story without the glitz and millions of dollars. I think Mr. Oremland was in love with his story and his cast. He gave it such beautiful and heartbreaking moments. His interview on the DVD explains why he did the film and why he had such a strong connection in filming it. He also explained how he found the leading man, Steve Bell. Bell is perfectly cast as Craig, a young boxer from the skids who is not only fighting in sleezy matches but fighting his coming out as a homosexual.

He seemed so natural, they claim he actually had done some boxing in real life, you believed him from the start. Watching his opening up in his relationship with a pick-up, played by the beautiful Ian Rose. Rose also gave a truthful and lovely performance as he too found himself in his relationship with Craig. They played their scenes together quite well, including their nudity scenes.

Other cast members were Dani Behr, who played such a selfish girl-friend to Rose, I wanted to slap her. What a witch, and I use the term lightly. Then there's Craig's brother, well played by Chris Hargreaves,

who learns his brother is gay and supports him and his choice. Kind of brother every gay guy wishes he had. Roger Daltrey played another sleezy character in this film. I'm not quite sure whether I disliked his acting or his role the most. I didn't like him in this. I'm one who didn't know who he was. Not a THE WHO fan obviously. So I can't compare him to anything, but what he did in the film. Maybe Mr. Oremland felt he needed a name? I thought Daltrey overacted. But, that's a minor flaw in this wonderful movie. The story, acting and directing all make it worthwhile in renting the DVD. Go and do it like it is.

This surprisingly good debut from director Paul Oremland follows the story of bare-knuckle fighter Craig (impressively acted by British amateur featherweight champion, Steve Bell) as he abandons his violent life in Blackpool's underworld and finds love and disillusionment in London's gay clubland.

As with many debuts, part of the fun of this film is trying to trace Oremland's influences. There are heavy reworkings of the "Breaking Glass" scenario (1980: Brian Gibson), with the action of "Like It Is" relying on the same devices: the buying of records from particular stores in order to make a record enter the music charts (a hideously corny nineties style boy -band); the predatory boss-figure (played with worrying believability by Roger Daltrey); and the casual drug-taking. Elsewhere, the relationship between Ian Rose's record producer and the naive Bell reminds us of that between the Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day Lewis characters in "My Beautiful Launderette" (1985: Stephen Frears) although, like all Oremland's 'borrowings' this is given a powerful nineties twist, concerning itself not with a racial divide between the lovers, but a cultural one in the macho, 'don't call me queer' stance of the Northerner and the 'glad to be gay' hipness of the Londoner.

This is a slightly awkward film but Oremland cleverly sidesteps the usual cliches that so often marr well-intentioned yet cringe-worthy gay drama. The performances of both Bell and Daltry are absolutely first-rate, whereas Rose is satisfactory even if I couldn't quite believe someone throwing up their life to follow him across the country after a one-night stand. Behr is just plain annoying -- although, it must be said, her character is anything but likeable, so how much of this lies with the actress herself is open to debate.

As a coming-out tale, "Like It Is" is a little too sugar-coated for my tastes: I found the reaction of Bell's elder brother, on finding out his predilections ("Thank God!") rather unbelievable -- as was Rose's telling him in the first place. Surely, as an experienced gay-man, Rose would have more sense than to go into a strange man's home and out his brother -- especially when the aforementioned stranger is standing between him and the door.

But these are minor niggles -- as a debut film, this is a highly enjoyable effort and well worth seeing. Contains swearing, drug-taking, nudity and sex scenes. 3½ out of 5.

Paul Oremland shows signs of being an excellent director. There are some awkwardnesses in this film that should have been reshot, but also many of the scenes are excellent, and especially the street scenes seem true to life and very atmospheric. Except for the fight scenes, this movie could cross over and be enjoyable for women. I'd love to see what Oremland can do with a larger budget.

This is a simple and enjoyable film. It shows the evolution of the sexual-love relationship of two young men in London. The total contrast of the characters and their origins, as well as the graphical elements of the characters, specially the one of Craig, demystify alot of gay stereotypes through an unusual romance.