God’s Own Country (2017)

I thought I’d give this ten minutes (farmers in Yorkshire…) but I was totally gripped. It’s on Netflix so, if you haven’t seen it, give it a try. The main actor is Josh O’Connor, who I’d only seen playing toffs in Riot Club and The Durrells (playing Lawrence). Not hugely recommended… But he’s so good here.

It’s a bit like Brokeback Mountain (gay sheep-herders!), but I think it’s better, if only just because it’s in the present, and doesn’t have that ‘that was then’ short story aspect. It’s certainly streets better than Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, which is in some way trying to do the same thing.

Also phenomenal are Gemma Jones (who was one of the best things about Good) and Ian Hart as (I’d forgotten this) a STROKE VICTIM. He did his homework!

Who is the director, Francis Lee? An actor (in Topsy Turvy, which means he’s quite old) and a first-time feature director. Wow. He was born in Halifax, so maybe this will become a speciality. I can’t remember a British film having this impact on me since My Summer Of Love, and that was by a Pole! And I’ve never, ever wanted a film to end happily as much as this one.